Sunday, March 27, 2011
http://www.newsnow.lk/top-story/lanka-warns-eu-on-ltte Lanka warns EU on LTTE Written by Easwaran Rutnam .Sri Lanka has warned the European Union to remain mindful about the LTTE despite its military defeat saying Tiger remnants could end up being hired by other terrorist groups. Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the EU Ravinatha Aryasingha said that remnant cadres of the LTTE and its front organizations constitute a ready army of ‘mercenaries for hire’ who possess a wide spectrum of skills that can be obtained for a price and in this day and age of self inspired terrorism, there are many including the numerous single issue terrorist groups looking for such skills. He said that these skills include arms procurement and smuggling, passport fraud and human trafficking, skimming, extortion and money laundering, threat to corporate interests, propaganda broadcasts and cyber terror, as well as the radicalization and indoctrination of youth. Speaking at the European Corporate Security Association in Brussels the Sri Lankan Ambassador said that since the military defeat of the LTTE in Sri Lanka in May 2009, Europe has become the preferred location for concentration of assets, personnel and activity of the LTTE, the Sri Lankan Embassy in Brussels said. He noted that besides the radicalized activism of LTTE front organizations in several European capitals, and the arrest of 32 LTTE activists in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland and conviction of a further 21 in France over the past 15 months, the 'in-charge' of the LTTE’s assets and network of front organizations Nadiyavan, the LTTE's senior most surviving intelligence leader Vinayakam, Propagandist-in-Chief Jeyachandran and Global Tamil Forum chief Fr. Emmanuel were all located in Europe, to which also the centre of gravity of the so-called "Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam has shifted following the formation of the breakaway TGTE (Democrats) group recently. Sri Lanka’s quest for reconciliation and development will be helped, to the extent that foreign governments maintain a watchful eye, concerning the activities of pro-LTTE elements, the Ambassador said. Sri Lanka called on European States and institutions not to provide any political or symbolic support, nor be fooled by the false pretences of those continuing to advocate mono-ethnic separatism in Sri Lanka “through peaceful means”, while espousing the ideology of the LTTE, using its money and being manipulated by its surviving military leaders. (News Now.lk)
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110326_05
Turned to be Symbol of Courage
www.defence.lk">God has given us eyes to see the beauty of the nature and ears to hear the whisper of the nature. You cannot imagine of a life sans seeing and hearing. But life is not always what we expect. For some reasons, destiny turns unkind to some people dragging their life into misery. However, there area some who never let their lives fail but succeed with their courage and willpower. What is required is some kind hearts to lend a helping hand in their effort to lead a normal life. Nuffield School for the Deaf and the Blind at Kaithady is one such place looking after children who became differently able. Run by the Church of Anglican Mission (CAM) Colombo with assistance of the Sri Lankan government, this school provides special education to 207 deaf and blind girls and boys from Grade 1 up to G.C.E. O/L. There are 28 teachers assisted by 20 minor staff members serving with dedication to console those innocent souls. Four students who turned disabled in the war and found admission to the Kaithady Nuffield School for the Deaf and the Blind, anxious of further education, have set up unmatched example to the world by obtaining good results at the 2010 GCE O/L examination. Clement Christida (27) born at Thelippalai started her education at Thelippalai Government Tamil Mixed School. Since she missed the affection of her parents from the childhood, her grandmother took the responsibility of taking care of the girl. Rising disturbances in the area compelled them to leave Thelippalai in 1987 and found shelter in Manipay, Kilinochchi and Puthukudiyirippu. Christida received injuries in an explosion of a mortar in 2000 in Kilinochchi where she lost her both eyes and the right hand. As the LTTE terrorists forced civilians to move along with them during last fighting, Christida was also taken to Vellamullivaikkal in 2009. She had to be there until Army troops rescued civilians. Clement Christida found a seat at Nuffield School and sat the GCE O/L in 2010 under the Index Number 64883922 at which she got good results. "I cannot study A/L science as I have lost both eyes and the right hand. So I will study Arts subjects and I want to be a teacher", she concluded. Vijayaluxmi Wickramarasa (20) is another war victim at the Nuffield school. She was born in Point Pedro and entered Punithanagar Katkovalam school and Varani Maha Viththiyalam for primary education. Gradually displaced by the war, Vijayalauxmi got injured in 2009 at Puthumatthalan. She lost her eyes, right hand and fingers of the left hand. But robustness in Vijayalauxmi guided her to be successful in GCE O/L examination in 2010 under the Index Number 64883892 as a student of Nuffield school. "My aim is to become a music teacher," she revealed her ambition. Santhirarasa Vikneswaran (23) born in Oddusudan is an old pupil of Nedunkerni Maha Viththiyalam. He says that his father died in 2008 in Suganthirapuram. "I was injured in 2006 at Oddusudan. I lost my eyes, right hand and three fingers of the left hand. After the war was over I came to this school", Santhirarasa says. He has got good results at the GCE O/L examination 2010 under the Index Number 64883876. Santhirarasa says he wants to be a lawyer. Vijayakumar Vijayalathan (22) who successfully got through the GCE O/L under the Index Number 64883884 was a resident in Kankesanthurai and an old pupil of Manipay St. Anne's College. After being displaced by the war, he went to Vavunikulam Balinagar in Mullaithivu District and finally came to Vellamullivaikkal where he sustained injuries loosing both eyes. "I will study Arts subjects to be a lawyer", Vijayakumar says. On special approval of Mr. Anura Edirisiinghe, Commissioner General Examination, Christida, Vijayaluxmi, Santhirarasa and Vijayakumar were assisted by three invigilators at the examination. One invigilator read out the questions, the other one wrote answers orally given by candidates while another recordeed the answers given. These exemplary characters convey the message to the world that nothing is impossible if there is courage and determination. But they need affection and care of others to be a part of our society
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110326_04
Officials bust LTTE propaganda effort
Sri Lanka military vehemently denied an online propaganda report of a 'terrorist attack on a military convoy' last Thursday (24) as killing 5 personnel while injuring a senior officer. According to a pro-terrorist online portal, a military convoy had come under a possible 'LTTE terrorist attack' deep inside the Habarana jungle enclave. Defence observers making note on the latest LTTE propaganda theme, are of the view that such efforts by anti-peace cum terrorist mouth pieces as violent reactions- irked by the magnitude of development and economic progress in the once war torn North and East. Democracy is flourishing in the nation as Sri Lanka is well ahead of becoming the Miracle of Asia- a vow President Rajapaksa made resuming office for the second term. The recently concluded Local Government Elections resulted in a landslide win to the ruling UPFA government while Tamil political parties secured 12 of the contested 235, ahead of the major opposition party-UNP with a mere 8 councils under its belt. Also, Sri Lanka been an official host of the ICC World-Cup and the unprecedented exhibition of talent by the local boys has indeed pricked eyes of the doomsayers. Similar, anti-Sri Lankan propaganda efforts by LTTE activists aboard were intense at the 2007 Caribbean World-Cup, which ended in drama as the Sri Lanka cricket team went ahead making to a rain rattled finale. Furthermore, the latest revelation declaring Hambantota-candidate city for the 2018 Commonwealth Games has added more slat on wounds of those with sinister anti-.Sri Lanka motives. Since, end of the three decade terrorist scourge in 2009 the islanders are reaping benefits of peace with mega development projects underway on all parts of the nation involving billions of dollars of foreign investments. Sri Lanka is experiencing a large tourist influx with many hotels full and booked for months. Hence, similar propaganda gimmicks are expected to surf intended at creating a hype of doubt, defence analysts said adding that the perpetrators driven by the 'curse of extremism' will only be left -defied by their own hatred.
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110326_03 SL joins in foiling attack on World Cup Interpol said Thursday ( March 24) it had foiled a militant plot, with the cooperation from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, to carry out an attack during the Cricket World Cup now being played across South Asia. "Last week, through cooperation from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, we were able to identify, locate and arrest a terrorist," quoting the Head of the Interpol Ronald K. Noble, Reuters reported. He said the man with "criminal intentions," whom he did not identify, was arrested on his way from the Pakistani port city of Karachi to the Maldives. "Thanks to the cooperation of Pakistan and other countries, we were able to make sure that the World Cup remains safe," he said. Earlier this month, India issued an alert over a possible attack on the hugely popular tournament being played until April 2 in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In 2009, gunmen attacked visiting Sri Lankan cricketers in the Pakistani city of Lahore. Eight Pakistanis died in the attack and six members of the Sri Lanka team were injured. Since then, Pakistan, one of the original four co-hosts of the World Cup, has not hosted an international cricket match, Reuters said. Courtesy : Reuters
Friday, March 25, 2011
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110324_01
Air strikes on Libya unacceptable
External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris said yesterday in Parliament that the air strikes on the Libyan people cannot be accepted as the strikes have increased together their suffering.
He was responding to an adjournment motion moved by UPFA National list MP A H M Azwer.
Minister Peiris said ties between Libya and Sri Lanka was very strong. "We feel empathy for the people of Libya. The action today has been taken in accordance with a UN Security Council resolution.
But this authority given to them is not an open ended authority but it is restricted. Action should be taken to protect the civilians in Libya. Any action taken beyond this objective is not acceptable. Another matter is that the suffering of the Libyan people should be relieved by these actions. But the question is have those people felt relief as a result of those air strikes.
It has worsened their suffering. I would like to point out that the political relations are crucial at this time. We hope that the Libyan Government will soon come out with a solution to this problem. It should be a fair solution that serves the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Libya.
Courtesy : Ministry of External Affairs
Air strikes on Libya unacceptable
External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris said yesterday in Parliament that the air strikes on the Libyan people cannot be accepted as the strikes have increased together their suffering.
He was responding to an adjournment motion moved by UPFA National list MP A H M Azwer.
Minister Peiris said ties between Libya and Sri Lanka was very strong. "We feel empathy for the people of Libya. The action today has been taken in accordance with a UN Security Council resolution.
But this authority given to them is not an open ended authority but it is restricted. Action should be taken to protect the civilians in Libya. Any action taken beyond this objective is not acceptable. Another matter is that the suffering of the Libyan people should be relieved by these actions. But the question is have those people felt relief as a result of those air strikes.
It has worsened their suffering. I would like to point out that the political relations are crucial at this time. We hope that the Libyan Government will soon come out with a solution to this problem. It should be a fair solution that serves the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Libya.
Courtesy : Ministry of External Affairs
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110322_02
Canadian court upholds LTTE fundraising sentence
British Columbia's Court of Appeal has rejected the Crown's bid to overturn a six-month sentence given to a Vaughan man convicted of fund-raising for the LTTE.
Prapaharan "Prapa" Thambithurai, 47, of Maple, was convicted and sentenced in B.C. in May for providing financial services, knowing they would benefit LTTE, the Canadian media reported.
Thambithurai pleaded guilty to the charge in what became Canada's first successful prosecution of knowingly raising funds for the LTTE.
In a 3-0 ruling released yesterday, the B.C. Court of Appeal rejected the Crown's appeal, ruling the six-month sentence fit the crime.
The facts and Thambithurai's personal circumstances were properly considered during his trial, the B.C. appeals court said in its ruling.
Only weeks after the sentence was handed down, the federal government said it would appeal, claiming the sentence was "inappropriate and inadequate".
During the criminal case, the Crown argued Mr. Thambithurai should be sentenced to two years.
The charge carries a maximum 10-year sentence.
But Mr. Thambithurai was ordered to serve a sentence that would ordinarily be viewed as a harsh penalty for a first offender, the B.C. appeals court ruled.
Thambithurai has been freed after serving his sentence. Mr. Thambithurai went to a home in Burnaby, B.C. March 13, 2008 and asked a man to contribute money for humanitarian aid to help the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, according to a statement of facts from the criminal case, The man gave Mr. Thambithurai $600 cash, for which a receipt was issued.
That same day, he requested money from another man in Burnaby and received a $300 pledge, but no cash, according to the statement of facts.
He was later arrested.
Mr. Thambithurai admitted to police he travelled to B.C. to collect money for residents of Sri Lanka. The money was intended for the World Tamil Movement, Mr. Thambithurai told police. Ottawa considers the Tamil Tigers and the World Tamil Movement terrorist groups.
As much as half of the money raised would end up in the hands of the Tamil Tigers, Mr. Thambithurai admitted.
Courtesy: Vancouver Sun
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110321_02
National reconciliation is achievable says Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo says the international community shouldn't interfere in Sri Lanka's domestic issues.
Addressing a gathering in Kegalle over the weekend, Dr. Malcolm Ranjith said that foreign interference would only cause problems.
The leader of the Catholic community expressed confidence that national reconciliation could be achieved in the post-war era without the expertise of the international community.
The Archbishop said that all communities should support the ongoing efforts to settle differences among the communities.
National reconciliation is achievable says Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo says the international community shouldn't interfere in Sri Lanka's domestic issues.
Addressing a gathering in Kegalle over the weekend, Dr. Malcolm Ranjith said that foreign interference would only cause problems.
The leader of the Catholic community expressed confidence that national reconciliation could be achieved in the post-war era without the expertise of the international community.
The Archbishop said that all communities should support the ongoing efforts to settle differences among the communities.
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110319_01
Remarkable growth in CSE Jaffna
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) Jaffna branch which has opened last April performed remarkably and it has recorded an average daily turnover of Rs 2.6 million in 2010. The Jaffna branch has improved its daily turnover for this year to Rs 4.6 million as at end February, a Colombo Stock Exchange official told.
The total number of new Central Depository System (CDS) accounts opened last year was 640 and indicating its improvement, the total number of new accounts opened as at end February accounted to 427.
The awareness programs are being conducted by the CSE and other companies to improve the knowledge of investors in the Jaffna peninsula and to attract many customers.
Expressing on the progress of the CSE Jaffna branch, Capital Trust Securities (Pvt) Ltd Director Sarath Rajapaksa said the Jaffna branch is picking up business in an impressive manner.
"Our team has encouraged most of our clients for online trading during the awareness programs conducted and we are promoting laptop and internet facilities among our clients in collaboration with other private entities" he added.
Bartleet Mallory Stockbrokers Director Sujeewa Peiris said there is a significant increase in its business since its commencement in Jaffna. The company has shown a growth in terms of the number of CDS accounts opened, generating of turnovers, and volumes.
"It is important to expand further off the Jaffna town and find large-scale investors who like to invest in the capital market. So we have recruited more employees and investment advisors to the company" Peiris added.
"The number of online trading has increased commendably and the number of investors registering under the online trading system also shows a growth" he further added.
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110318_03
Hotel handed back to Owner; No More HSZs in Jaffna
www.defence.lk">The famous Subash Hotel on the Victoria road in Jaffna town was officially handed over to its owner by the Sri Lanka Army on Thursday (17). On instructions of Secretary Defence Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the hotel building was handed over to Mr. H. Hariharan by the Commander Security Forces - Jaffna (SF-J) Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe paving way for remaining private properties occupied by the Army to be sused by their legitimate owners.
On receiving the documents with regard to handing over the building from the Commander SF-J in the presence of Jaffna District Parliamentarian Mr. M. Chandrakumar, Government Agent Jaffna Mrs. Emelda Sukumar, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 51 Division Major General Janaka Walgama, Mayoress Jaffna Mrs. Yogeswari Pathgunarasa and other senior Army officers, expressed his sincere thanks to the Army and the government for arrangements made for him to get his property back in good condition.
Army having overpowered LTTE terrorist movements in the Jaffna town area, troops of the 52 Division made the hotel their Headquarters in December 1995 for easy administration and command over its troops and to monitor and control terrorist activities in the area. In May 1996, 52 Division Headquarters was replaced by the 51 Division. Since then 51 Division Headquarters had been using the building on rent basis. A monthly rental of Rs. 90000/= was paid from the beginning and it was increased to Rs. 125000/= since January 2010.
First block of the Subash hotel was handed over to Mr. Hariharan in February this year. The owner was paid Rs. 30000/= up to January 2010 and later for it. The rental was increased to Rs. 40000/= since January 2010.
With civil and public administration getting streamlined on par with other development programmes under the Wadakkin Wasantham (Uthuru Wasanthaya), and law and order is restored by the Police in the peninsula, Army is in the process of shrinking its strengths in popularized areas and shifting camps to remote crown lands. As a result, the Headquarters 51 Division which was functioning at the Subash hotel was relocated at Kopay two weeks ago under the aegis of Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya who declared open the new premises. Only a fewer number of permanent buildings are presently being occupied by the Army on rental basis with consent of their owners and those buildings will also be handed back to owners in the course of time.
Meanwhile, the Victoria road in the Jaffna town so far remained a restricted zone was opened for public use on Thursday (17) leaving no High Security Zones in the town area any longer. The Victoria road linking Jaffna-Palaly main road and the Clock Tower road remained closed for public use nearly for sixteen years due to security reasons since 51 Division Headquarters and several other military installations had been established in buildings either side. Releasing the Victoria road today marked the removal of High Security Zones in the Jaffna town.
Commander SF-J, Jaffna District Parliamentarian Mr. M. Chandrakumar, Government Agent Jaffna, GOC 51 Division, BGS SF-J and Mayoress Jaffna attended the occasion.
Jaffna Security Forces Headquarters has hitherto released all lands in Araly, Kolombuthurai, Gurunagar, Thanankilappu and Point Pedro to civilians and owners have already settle down in their orginal places. In addition, people in Kurumpasiddy in Vasavilan South in Thelippalai AGA Division, Ilavalai North, Ilavalai West and Wittakapuram in Valikamam North AGA Division, Manalkadu, Kudatthanai, Kudatthanai Karaiyoor, Potpathy, Ampan, Champianpattu North and South, Maruthankerni, Vathirayan, Uduthurai and Alaiyavalai in Vadamarachchi North and East were resettled recently after clearance of mines was declared. Accelerated de-mining is now being conducted in other areas of Thelippalai and surrounding areas for immediate resettlement of people.
Hotel handed back to Owner; No More HSZs in Jaffna
www.defence.lk">The famous Subash Hotel on the Victoria road in Jaffna town was officially handed over to its owner by the Sri Lanka Army on Thursday (17). On instructions of Secretary Defence Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the hotel building was handed over to Mr. H. Hariharan by the Commander Security Forces - Jaffna (SF-J) Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe paving way for remaining private properties occupied by the Army to be sused by their legitimate owners.
On receiving the documents with regard to handing over the building from the Commander SF-J in the presence of Jaffna District Parliamentarian Mr. M. Chandrakumar, Government Agent Jaffna Mrs. Emelda Sukumar, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 51 Division Major General Janaka Walgama, Mayoress Jaffna Mrs. Yogeswari Pathgunarasa and other senior Army officers, expressed his sincere thanks to the Army and the government for arrangements made for him to get his property back in good condition.
Army having overpowered LTTE terrorist movements in the Jaffna town area, troops of the 52 Division made the hotel their Headquarters in December 1995 for easy administration and command over its troops and to monitor and control terrorist activities in the area. In May 1996, 52 Division Headquarters was replaced by the 51 Division. Since then 51 Division Headquarters had been using the building on rent basis. A monthly rental of Rs. 90000/= was paid from the beginning and it was increased to Rs. 125000/= since January 2010.
First block of the Subash hotel was handed over to Mr. Hariharan in February this year. The owner was paid Rs. 30000/= up to January 2010 and later for it. The rental was increased to Rs. 40000/= since January 2010.
With civil and public administration getting streamlined on par with other development programmes under the Wadakkin Wasantham (Uthuru Wasanthaya), and law and order is restored by the Police in the peninsula, Army is in the process of shrinking its strengths in popularized areas and shifting camps to remote crown lands. As a result, the Headquarters 51 Division which was functioning at the Subash hotel was relocated at Kopay two weeks ago under the aegis of Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya who declared open the new premises. Only a fewer number of permanent buildings are presently being occupied by the Army on rental basis with consent of their owners and those buildings will also be handed back to owners in the course of time.
Meanwhile, the Victoria road in the Jaffna town so far remained a restricted zone was opened for public use on Thursday (17) leaving no High Security Zones in the town area any longer. The Victoria road linking Jaffna-Palaly main road and the Clock Tower road remained closed for public use nearly for sixteen years due to security reasons since 51 Division Headquarters and several other military installations had been established in buildings either side. Releasing the Victoria road today marked the removal of High Security Zones in the Jaffna town.
Commander SF-J, Jaffna District Parliamentarian Mr. M. Chandrakumar, Government Agent Jaffna, GOC 51 Division, BGS SF-J and Mayoress Jaffna attended the occasion.
Jaffna Security Forces Headquarters has hitherto released all lands in Araly, Kolombuthurai, Gurunagar, Thanankilappu and Point Pedro to civilians and owners have already settle down in their orginal places. In addition, people in Kurumpasiddy in Vasavilan South in Thelippalai AGA Division, Ilavalai North, Ilavalai West and Wittakapuram in Valikamam North AGA Division, Manalkadu, Kudatthanai, Kudatthanai Karaiyoor, Potpathy, Ampan, Champianpattu North and South, Maruthankerni, Vathirayan, Uduthurai and Alaiyavalai in Vadamarachchi North and East were resettled recently after clearance of mines was declared. Accelerated de-mining is now being conducted in other areas of Thelippalai and surrounding areas for immediate resettlement of people.
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110312_01
Over 70 percent ex-combatants rehabilitated
Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa Friday( March 11), said that over 70 percent of former combatants were rehabilitated and integrated to society and the rest is being rehabilitated by the Government.
Minister Rajapaksa noted that former combatants who were attached to a terrorist organization of this magnitude are being held by many countries for more than 10 years, but the Government has succeeded in rehabilitating over 70 per cent cadres within one and half years. Minister Rajapaksa was speaking at the inauguration of Cash for Work program at Urthipuram North in the Killinochchi district.
This program is launched by the Economic Development Ministry to uplift the living standards of the people in the Killinochchi district and improve their agricultural productivity.
The Urthipuram tank is to be renovated under this project with the community participation and the Government has allocated Rs. 4.8 million for the project.
Minister Rajapaksa cut the first sod to commence the renovation of the tank. He also participated in the harvesting of the Urthipuram paddy field.
A distribution of tractors among the Agrarian services centres in the district was also held under the patronage of Minister Rajapaksa.
Minister Rajapaksa added that certain elements living overseas are engaged in various activities which are detrimental to the Tamil people and the country.
Minister Rajapaksa was of the view that all should show more commitment to ensure that another conflict would not arise in the country again.
The Minister requested the public not be misled by the rumours being spread by the elements with vested interests.
He commended the services of Traditional Industries and Small Industries Development Minister Douglous Devananda who did not leave the people represented by him during the time of conflict.
Minister Rajapaksa added that 60,000 acres of land in the Killinochchi district have been brought under plough this year. He added that the Government provided many facilities to these farmers during the course of last year. The Minister noted that the farmers in the district received numerous assistance from the Government to revive agricultural activities after a lapse of over two decades.
He said the Government provided farmers in the Northern region all sorts of assistance ranging from provision of high quality seeds to clearing of irrigational canals in the province.
He stated that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has given them special directives to provide all facilities to the people in the Killinochchi, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu districts who have undergone a number of difficulties and hardships during the time of conflict.
The Minister added that the Government is in the process of upgrading infrastructure facilities in the Killinochchi district and the Northern Province at large.
He added that the reconstruction of the Mullaitivu - Point Pedro road and many other main roads in the province would commence soon.
Traditional Industries and Small Industries Development Minister Douglous Devananda and Northern Province Governor Major General G A Chandrasiri were present.
Courtesy: Daily News
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110318_04
Canada deports second LTTE suspect
A second Tamil migrant from the MV Sun Sea was ordered deported Thursday after admitting that he was a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the early 1990s.
The man ordered deported had trained with the LTTE for a year, including six months with its naval arm, the Sea Tigers, the Immigration and Refugee Board heard, according to Vancouver Sun.
After four months, he told his bosses that he wanted to quit and was punished by being sent to wash dishes for 16 months before being discharged, the board was told.
In her decision, board adjudicator Daphne Shaw Dyck said even though the migrant had never engaged in battle, his training and his role with the Tigers was "unambiguous," making him inadmissible to Canada.
The LTTE considered a terrorist organization and is banned in Canada.
Last week, another Tamil migrant was ordered deported after he, too, was found to have been a member of the Tigers in the 1990s.
The Canadian government is seeking the removal of more than 40 of the Sun Sea migrants, mostly on the grounds of membership with the Tigers or serious criminality.
Meanwhile, one of only two Tamil women still in detention since the Sun Sea's arrival last summer was ordered released on Thursday. Earlier this week, the board agreed to keep the woman - the mother of two children - in detention after the government argued that it needed more time to investigate a necklace the woman brought with her.
The government said the woman's pendant - or thali - had features that suggested it was only given to members of the Tamil Tigers.
But Sonya Sunger, a representative for the Canada Border Services Agency, told the board Thursday that an outside expert's analysis of the pendant was "inconclusive."
Sunger tried to keep the woman in detention on grounds that the woman was a flight risk. She argued that the woman's credibility was a problem because she had withheld information to federal officers, including the activities of her husband, who Sunger alleged travelled with "high-ranking" LTTE members.
Courtesy: Vancouver Sun
Canada deports second LTTE suspect
A second Tamil migrant from the MV Sun Sea was ordered deported Thursday after admitting that he was a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the early 1990s.
The man ordered deported had trained with the LTTE for a year, including six months with its naval arm, the Sea Tigers, the Immigration and Refugee Board heard, according to Vancouver Sun.
After four months, he told his bosses that he wanted to quit and was punished by being sent to wash dishes for 16 months before being discharged, the board was told.
In her decision, board adjudicator Daphne Shaw Dyck said even though the migrant had never engaged in battle, his training and his role with the Tigers was "unambiguous," making him inadmissible to Canada.
The LTTE considered a terrorist organization and is banned in Canada.
Last week, another Tamil migrant was ordered deported after he, too, was found to have been a member of the Tigers in the 1990s.
The Canadian government is seeking the removal of more than 40 of the Sun Sea migrants, mostly on the grounds of membership with the Tigers or serious criminality.
Meanwhile, one of only two Tamil women still in detention since the Sun Sea's arrival last summer was ordered released on Thursday. Earlier this week, the board agreed to keep the woman - the mother of two children - in detention after the government argued that it needed more time to investigate a necklace the woman brought with her.
The government said the woman's pendant - or thali - had features that suggested it was only given to members of the Tamil Tigers.
But Sonya Sunger, a representative for the Canada Border Services Agency, told the board Thursday that an outside expert's analysis of the pendant was "inconclusive."
Sunger tried to keep the woman in detention on grounds that the woman was a flight risk. She argued that the woman's credibility was a problem because she had withheld information to federal officers, including the activities of her husband, who Sunger alleged travelled with "high-ranking" LTTE members.
Courtesy: Vancouver Sun
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110318_01http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110318_01
"Sri Lanka -The Wonder of Asia" enchants Beijing
Sri Lanka's First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa speaking at the 'Sri Lanka - the Wonder of Asia' cultural evening organized in Beijing said that the cultural interactions provide a perfect setting to develop peace, harmony and friendship between countries and through this concert, it is Sri Lanka's intention to present to the people of Beijing a glimpse of the rich and diverse cultural traditions of Sri Lanka.
Enchanting the guests present with a glimpse of the wonders of Sri Lanka and her timeless culture and civilization, this event was organized for the 4th consecutive year on 10th March 2011 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Beijing. It was a celebration of the National Day of Sri Lanka and the 54th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.
Hu Zhengyue, the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs who represented the Chinese Government on this occasion, commended the efforts by the Government of Sri Lanka to further strengthen the close bilateral relations between China and Sri Lanka.
The popular dance troupe of Channa - Upuli Performing Arts Foundation brought to life in a spectacular show the ancient and contemporary dance forms of Sri Lanka. The delectable spice infused Sri Lanka cuisine served by the Chef from the Hilton Colombo further enhanced the magic of the evening.
A display of Sri Lanka's niche products, such as pure Ceylon Tea, Gems stones and tropical fruits of Sri Lanka were attractively arranged at the foyer combined with displays from independent travel bloggers of China who often educate the Chinese public about Sri Lanka on their blogs.
In recognition of the social and community services done by the All China Women's Federation and in appreciation of the remarkable support extended by them to uplift the livelihoods of underprivileged Sri Lankan women and children, the Sri Lanka Embassy presented a cash donation of RMB50,000 to Meng Xiaosi, Vice President of the All China Women's Federation who was present at the occasion.
The Evening was also used as a platform in recognizing the community services done with the leadership of the First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa by presenting her charity organization 'Siriliya Saviya' with US$50,000.
Apart from creating a positive atmosphere to enhance mutual understanding and goodwill between people of both countries, the evening was also a catalyst in imparting further positive momentum to the consolidation of bilateral friendly ties between Sri Lanka and China. Speaking at the event, Ambassador Karunatilaka Amunugama stated that Sri Lanka, under the guidance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has now embarked upon a multi pronged strategy initiating a whole series of socio-economic development activities bringing prosperity, unity and harmony to the people of Sri Lanka. Adding that China is featured prominently amongst many other friends of Sri Lanka he appreciated the unwavering support by China in protecting Sri Lanka's interests and in developing Sri Lanka's vital infrastructure. "There is so much scope for a strong partnership with China in light of her unrivaled competitiveness and the limitless potential", noted the Ambassador. He also thanked the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, SriLankan Airlines and the well-wisher for the assistance extended in presenting the cultural evening.
The event was well represented by a distinguished gathering of over 500 special invitees comprising diplomats and senior officials of the Chinese Government, the business community, tourism and Chinese media.
"Sri Lanka -The Wonder of Asia" enchants Beijing
Sri Lanka's First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa speaking at the 'Sri Lanka - the Wonder of Asia' cultural evening organized in Beijing said that the cultural interactions provide a perfect setting to develop peace, harmony and friendship between countries and through this concert, it is Sri Lanka's intention to present to the people of Beijing a glimpse of the rich and diverse cultural traditions of Sri Lanka.
Enchanting the guests present with a glimpse of the wonders of Sri Lanka and her timeless culture and civilization, this event was organized for the 4th consecutive year on 10th March 2011 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Beijing. It was a celebration of the National Day of Sri Lanka and the 54th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.
Hu Zhengyue, the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs who represented the Chinese Government on this occasion, commended the efforts by the Government of Sri Lanka to further strengthen the close bilateral relations between China and Sri Lanka.
The popular dance troupe of Channa - Upuli Performing Arts Foundation brought to life in a spectacular show the ancient and contemporary dance forms of Sri Lanka. The delectable spice infused Sri Lanka cuisine served by the Chef from the Hilton Colombo further enhanced the magic of the evening.
A display of Sri Lanka's niche products, such as pure Ceylon Tea, Gems stones and tropical fruits of Sri Lanka were attractively arranged at the foyer combined with displays from independent travel bloggers of China who often educate the Chinese public about Sri Lanka on their blogs.
In recognition of the social and community services done by the All China Women's Federation and in appreciation of the remarkable support extended by them to uplift the livelihoods of underprivileged Sri Lankan women and children, the Sri Lanka Embassy presented a cash donation of RMB50,000 to Meng Xiaosi, Vice President of the All China Women's Federation who was present at the occasion.
The Evening was also used as a platform in recognizing the community services done with the leadership of the First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa by presenting her charity organization 'Siriliya Saviya' with US$50,000.
Apart from creating a positive atmosphere to enhance mutual understanding and goodwill between people of both countries, the evening was also a catalyst in imparting further positive momentum to the consolidation of bilateral friendly ties between Sri Lanka and China. Speaking at the event, Ambassador Karunatilaka Amunugama stated that Sri Lanka, under the guidance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has now embarked upon a multi pronged strategy initiating a whole series of socio-economic development activities bringing prosperity, unity and harmony to the people of Sri Lanka. Adding that China is featured prominently amongst many other friends of Sri Lanka he appreciated the unwavering support by China in protecting Sri Lanka's interests and in developing Sri Lanka's vital infrastructure. "There is so much scope for a strong partnership with China in light of her unrivaled competitiveness and the limitless potential", noted the Ambassador. He also thanked the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, SriLankan Airlines and the well-wisher for the assistance extended in presenting the cultural evening.
The event was well represented by a distinguished gathering of over 500 special invitees comprising diplomats and senior officials of the Chinese Government, the business community, tourism and Chinese media.
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110318_02
Ambassador Wickramasuriya calls AI for dialogue
"The people of Sri Lanka need and are receiving international community support for reconciliation, reconstruction and healing. I feel that the campaign by Amnesty International to criticize Sri Lanka undermines these immediate needs", states Sri Lankan Ambassador to United States H.E Jaliya Wickramasuriya.
He stressed the need for a dialogue with the Amnesty International on 'issues' concerning Sri Lanka in a communiqu‚ released yesterday (March 17).
Full text of the communiqu‚ released on Thursday (March 17), 2011.
James McDonald
Sri Lanka Country Director
C/O Amnesty International USA
5 Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10001
March 17, 2011
Dear Mr. McDonald,
I have read recently of allegations that Amnesty International has leveled against Sri Lanka. I am writing today in the hope of opening a dialogue with Amnesty International on these and other issues.
The people of Sri Lanka need and are receiving international community support for reconciliation, reconstruction and healing. I feel that the campaign by Amnesty International to criticize Sri Lanka undermines these immediate needs.
I am sure that Sri Lankans and Amnesty International are in agreement over the need for long-term, lasting peace. That is, after all, why we established the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission.
I understand that your organization does not feel that the LLRC is a valid process that will meet that need.
So be it. The LLRC was established by Sri Lankans for Sri Lankans. It is exploring the past to guarantee continued peace in the future. And so far, the process has been both productive and peaceful. It has also been transparent; all the testimony is posted on the LLRC's website and is unbiased.
Sri Lanka's delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva said Thursday that the LLRC, "is a domestic process pursuing an agenda of restorative justice to lay the foundation for continued reconciliation."
It asked that the commission be given, "the required time and space for the domestic process already underway, in fulfilling its objectives."
When forming the LLRC, Sri Lanka turned to South Africa's experience with its Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I would note that while that commission's work is today considered a success, it was not without controversy in 1995, when it was formed.
It goes without saying that Sri Lankans were disappointed that Amnesty International chose not to provide information or testimony to the LLRC. That, we felt, should have been part of the open discussion that the LLRC has encouraged in Sri Lanka.
I frankly fail to see the downside for Amnesty International in participating in this process.
After all, Amnesty International's own policy states: "Amnesty International campaigns for the effective establishment and functioning of truth commissions when crimes have been committed. In particular, the organization campaigns for truth commissions to take a victim-centred approach and to uphold the right of victims to obtain truth, justice and full reparation."
Aside from the LLRC, let me specifically address a recent claim by Amnesty International. I don't believe this accusation to be true, and therefore I don't see how it benefits Sri Lankans actually living in Sri Lanka.
On March 8, 2011 Amnesty International issued a report claiming that Sri Lanka was holding 1,900 people in prison without due process. Your group also included the loaded language that these people are "are vulnerable to a range of abuses, including torture or being killed in custody."
What Sri Lanka has in fact done is offer 11,696 former LTTE militants amnesty and rehabilitation. Of that number, over 50 percent have already completed job and educational training and have entered the workforce and university and are now part of society. Others are now undergoing rehabilitation.
How many nations in the world offer terrorists rehabilitation and jobs? I know of no others.
In addition, more than 500 LTTE child soldiers have successfully completed a rehabilitation program and have been reunited with their families and schools.
These programs are part of a broader effort by Sri Lanka to repair the damage done by 26 years of conflict. The government has rebuilt infrastructure such as roads, electrical lines, schools, hospitals, public buildings and water systems. Over 30 de-mining machines are now in operation in the North. LTTE landmines remain a formidable threat to returning civilians, and several NGOs and more than six nations are assisting Sri Lanka with de-mining. The government has hired more than 500 Tamil-speaking police officers, and it is recruiting more. The government has also initiated talks with the Tamil National Alliance party, and local elections were just completed.
Your group is frequently calling for reconciliation in Sri Lanka. As a Sri Lankan with many Tamil, Sinhalese and Muslim relatives and friends, I would like to suggest that these developments are proof-positive of reconciliation at work. But these advances have not been noted by Amnesty International.
People who have traveled to Sri Lanka and returned to the U.S. have told me of their own positive experiences and observations during their visits, including many Tamils.
There can be no question that peace and reconciliation are underway in Sri Lanka. There has been no loss of life due to terrorism in Sri Lanka since the May 2009 end of the conflict. That simple fact affords 21 million Sri Lankans the ultimate human right: Living freely in peace, without fear.
The Government of Sri Lanka is committed to reconciliation and the redevelopment of those areas affected by the long conflict. I know that your organization is well-intentioned and that you wish the best for all Sri Lankans. We both know that the damage done by the conflict won't be undone overnight, but that progress is being made.
It is in that spirit that I suggest again that we open a dialogue about these issues, rather than revert to finger-pointing back and forth - No one benefits from that, least of all those living in Sri Lanka.
Sincerely,
Jaliya Wickramasuriya
Ambassador
Ambassador Wickramasuriya calls AI for dialogue
"The people of Sri Lanka need and are receiving international community support for reconciliation, reconstruction and healing. I feel that the campaign by Amnesty International to criticize Sri Lanka undermines these immediate needs", states Sri Lankan Ambassador to United States H.E Jaliya Wickramasuriya.
He stressed the need for a dialogue with the Amnesty International on 'issues' concerning Sri Lanka in a communiqu‚ released yesterday (March 17).
Full text of the communiqu‚ released on Thursday (March 17), 2011.
James McDonald
Sri Lanka Country Director
C/O Amnesty International USA
5 Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10001
March 17, 2011
Dear Mr. McDonald,
I have read recently of allegations that Amnesty International has leveled against Sri Lanka. I am writing today in the hope of opening a dialogue with Amnesty International on these and other issues.
The people of Sri Lanka need and are receiving international community support for reconciliation, reconstruction and healing. I feel that the campaign by Amnesty International to criticize Sri Lanka undermines these immediate needs.
I am sure that Sri Lankans and Amnesty International are in agreement over the need for long-term, lasting peace. That is, after all, why we established the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission.
I understand that your organization does not feel that the LLRC is a valid process that will meet that need.
So be it. The LLRC was established by Sri Lankans for Sri Lankans. It is exploring the past to guarantee continued peace in the future. And so far, the process has been both productive and peaceful. It has also been transparent; all the testimony is posted on the LLRC's website and is unbiased.
Sri Lanka's delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva said Thursday that the LLRC, "is a domestic process pursuing an agenda of restorative justice to lay the foundation for continued reconciliation."
It asked that the commission be given, "the required time and space for the domestic process already underway, in fulfilling its objectives."
When forming the LLRC, Sri Lanka turned to South Africa's experience with its Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I would note that while that commission's work is today considered a success, it was not without controversy in 1995, when it was formed.
It goes without saying that Sri Lankans were disappointed that Amnesty International chose not to provide information or testimony to the LLRC. That, we felt, should have been part of the open discussion that the LLRC has encouraged in Sri Lanka.
I frankly fail to see the downside for Amnesty International in participating in this process.
After all, Amnesty International's own policy states: "Amnesty International campaigns for the effective establishment and functioning of truth commissions when crimes have been committed. In particular, the organization campaigns for truth commissions to take a victim-centred approach and to uphold the right of victims to obtain truth, justice and full reparation."
Aside from the LLRC, let me specifically address a recent claim by Amnesty International. I don't believe this accusation to be true, and therefore I don't see how it benefits Sri Lankans actually living in Sri Lanka.
On March 8, 2011 Amnesty International issued a report claiming that Sri Lanka was holding 1,900 people in prison without due process. Your group also included the loaded language that these people are "are vulnerable to a range of abuses, including torture or being killed in custody."
What Sri Lanka has in fact done is offer 11,696 former LTTE militants amnesty and rehabilitation. Of that number, over 50 percent have already completed job and educational training and have entered the workforce and university and are now part of society. Others are now undergoing rehabilitation.
How many nations in the world offer terrorists rehabilitation and jobs? I know of no others.
In addition, more than 500 LTTE child soldiers have successfully completed a rehabilitation program and have been reunited with their families and schools.
These programs are part of a broader effort by Sri Lanka to repair the damage done by 26 years of conflict. The government has rebuilt infrastructure such as roads, electrical lines, schools, hospitals, public buildings and water systems. Over 30 de-mining machines are now in operation in the North. LTTE landmines remain a formidable threat to returning civilians, and several NGOs and more than six nations are assisting Sri Lanka with de-mining. The government has hired more than 500 Tamil-speaking police officers, and it is recruiting more. The government has also initiated talks with the Tamil National Alliance party, and local elections were just completed.
Your group is frequently calling for reconciliation in Sri Lanka. As a Sri Lankan with many Tamil, Sinhalese and Muslim relatives and friends, I would like to suggest that these developments are proof-positive of reconciliation at work. But these advances have not been noted by Amnesty International.
People who have traveled to Sri Lanka and returned to the U.S. have told me of their own positive experiences and observations during their visits, including many Tamils.
There can be no question that peace and reconciliation are underway in Sri Lanka. There has been no loss of life due to terrorism in Sri Lanka since the May 2009 end of the conflict. That simple fact affords 21 million Sri Lankans the ultimate human right: Living freely in peace, without fear.
The Government of Sri Lanka is committed to reconciliation and the redevelopment of those areas affected by the long conflict. I know that your organization is well-intentioned and that you wish the best for all Sri Lankans. We both know that the damage done by the conflict won't be undone overnight, but that progress is being made.
It is in that spirit that I suggest again that we open a dialogue about these issues, rather than revert to finger-pointing back and forth - No one benefits from that, least of all those living in Sri Lanka.
Sincerely,
Jaliya Wickramasuriya
Ambassador
Wanted LTTE supporter apprehended in India
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110317_03
Wanted LTTE supporter apprehended in India
Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested a person, suspected to have links with LTTE, from his hideout in Navi Mumbai, India last Tuesday, (15 Mar) ATS said.
The accused Rajan Silithuriya alias Rajan alias Kartik, hailing from Sri Lanka, was apprehended from his hideout in Koparkhairane area of Navi Mumbai. According to ATS the suspect had been shifting places in the Mumbai suburbs since the past four years.
Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India on April 13, 2007 had seized three kgs of heroin at the Chennai International airport.
The concerned special court had declared Silithuriya as a wanted accused in the case and had also issued a non-bailable warrant against him.
The ATS had received specific information that Silithuriya was staying in Navi Mumbai following which he was arrested.
"We are probing if Silithuriya has any links with LTTE or any other group in Mumbai. Preliminary probe revealed the accused had stayed in Matunga, Chembur and Navi Mumbai areas since past four years," said additional director general (ATS) Rakesh Maria.
The Chennai NCB would seek his remand from the ATS soon, the ATS officials said adding further probe was on, reported DNA.
Wanted LTTE supporter apprehended in India
Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested a person, suspected to have links with LTTE, from his hideout in Navi Mumbai, India last Tuesday, (15 Mar) ATS said.
The accused Rajan Silithuriya alias Rajan alias Kartik, hailing from Sri Lanka, was apprehended from his hideout in Koparkhairane area of Navi Mumbai. According to ATS the suspect had been shifting places in the Mumbai suburbs since the past four years.
Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India on April 13, 2007 had seized three kgs of heroin at the Chennai International airport.
The concerned special court had declared Silithuriya as a wanted accused in the case and had also issued a non-bailable warrant against him.
The ATS had received specific information that Silithuriya was staying in Navi Mumbai following which he was arrested.
"We are probing if Silithuriya has any links with LTTE or any other group in Mumbai. Preliminary probe revealed the accused had stayed in Matunga, Chembur and Navi Mumbai areas since past four years," said additional director general (ATS) Rakesh Maria.
The Chennai NCB would seek his remand from the ATS soon, the ATS officials said adding further probe was on, reported DNA.
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110316_03
Defeat attempts to create fear psychosis says President
"Parents should be alert to defeat attempts by certain elements to create a fear psychosis period again", President Rajapaksa said Monday (March 15), while addressing a gathering at Angunukolapelessa.
"We clearly witnessed it during the 89 - 90 periods. Innocent youths were killed. School children were also victims. Even schools were destroyed", he said adding that some were getting ready to re-introduce such a period.
President Rajapaksa also pointed out that he was specially making an appeal to the parents not to permit their children to fall prey to it. He said that he was also requesting the youths not to be misled. Some had left schools and has been misled. The President queried from the parents whether they were sending their children to schools to put up posters or to write slogans in black boards or to distribute leaflets. They are clearly aware that it is not possible to dupe parents and youth cannot be hoodwinked when they reach their teenage.
The President requested the parents to draw special attention towards their children and maintain a tab on them as these goons are getting ready to destroy the children.
Defeat attempts to create fear psychosis says President
"Parents should be alert to defeat attempts by certain elements to create a fear psychosis period again", President Rajapaksa said Monday (March 15), while addressing a gathering at Angunukolapelessa.
"We clearly witnessed it during the 89 - 90 periods. Innocent youths were killed. School children were also victims. Even schools were destroyed", he said adding that some were getting ready to re-introduce such a period.
President Rajapaksa also pointed out that he was specially making an appeal to the parents not to permit their children to fall prey to it. He said that he was also requesting the youths not to be misled. Some had left schools and has been misled. The President queried from the parents whether they were sending their children to schools to put up posters or to write slogans in black boards or to distribute leaflets. They are clearly aware that it is not possible to dupe parents and youth cannot be hoodwinked when they reach their teenage.
The President requested the parents to draw special attention towards their children and maintain a tab on them as these goons are getting ready to destroy the children.
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110316_02
Economic revival in full swing in North - Amb Kohona
Reconciliation efforts underway
The economic imperatives were recognized immediately by the government once the conflict ended and the economic revival is in full swing in the North, stated Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Dr. Palitha Kohona at a discussion on Sri Lanka's post-conflict rebuilding at Asia Society, New York on 14 March.
He said that resettling the displaced was the immediate priority and today over 95% of the original 294,000 IDPs have returned to their villages. The remaining 17,000 have been permitted to leave, but have chosen to remain because of the facilities available in the camps, he said.
With regard to reintegrating ex-LTTE combatants into civilian society, Ambassador Kohona said that the government has adopted an extremely conciliatory attitude towards former combatants.
'The Government decided to treat most of them as victims rather than as criminals'.
He pointed out that in less than 15 months since the end of the conflict over 6000 ex-combatants out of the 11,700 identified, have been reintegrated after providing vocational and other trainings. The Ambassador added that the government has implemented a clear policy to return child combatants to their own families, communities and schools after providing them with catch-up education, counseling as well as English and IT training.
He also stated that the Ambepussa rehabilitation center set up for child combatants and received high praise from visitors, will be closed this year. All those at the Ratmalana rehabilitation centre have now been returned to their own communities and parents, he said.
A remarkable level of confidence has returned to the country contributing to the reconstruction effort, he said and explained the post-conflict recovery efforts.
Over 850 schools and all the hospitals and clinics have been rehabilitated and hundreds of miles of roads and power lines have been restored. Agricultural and fisheries production in the former LTTE controlled areas has continued to surge. 200,000 acres of rice have come under the plough. An additional 75,000 tons of fish from the North and the East are now added to the market monthly. The government has committed $ 360 million to the development of the North, he said.
He also illustrated the business opportunities now available with the end of the conflict.
'The revival of business confidence has been largely independent of government involvement' although it 'firmly encouraged these economic trends'. The Ambassador pointed out the record upward movement in the stock market (over 180% increase) and steady inward investment flows which reflect this confidence.
Inward tourism has rebounded by over 50% since January 2010 and there is interest from foreign investors, including large hotel chains such as Shangrila.
Ambassador Kohona added that minorities have continued to prosper in majority Sinhala areas of the country, including Colombo where many of the leading professionals in Colombo come from the minority communities and no restrictions exist on their lives, socially or economically.
With reference to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) he pointed out that it included representatives from the minorities as well and it is hoped that the LLRC will address the concerns expressed by interested persons, primarily with a view to facilitating the return to normalcy and helping the country to recover from its 27 year nightmare of terrorism. He added that the LLRC has, through a public notification, made it possible even for the SG's Panel of Experts to make submissions before it.
Comments from Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, and former United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake
Addressing the gathering Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, and former United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake stated, 'in the nearly two years since the end of the conflict, Sri Lanka has made steady progress in normalizing life for its citizens and reconciling the differences that devastated parts of the island for so many years, but there is much that remains to be done'.
The end of the conflict has presented an incredible opportunity to build a peaceful, just, democratic, united Sri Lanka, he stated, adding, 'in the spirit of friendship and partnership, the United States has not wavered in our support for the people of Sri Lanka , providing humanitarian and livelihood assistance as the country rebuilds itself'.
'The U.S. is ready to continue helping the Sri Lankans to restore their country'.
'It is clear to me that Sri Lanka has the potential to be one of South Asia's bright spots. With 8 percent GDP growth last year, a renewed tide of visiting tourists to take in the country's beautiful scenery and impressive history, and strong investor confidence, the country's economy is on an upward trajectory. Sri Lanka has some of the best health and social indicators in Asia with one of the lowest infant mortality rates and highest literacy rates, 90 percent, in the region, for example. The country has a well-educated young population...'
He highlighted a few events and developments such as the hosting of the Cricket World Cup and IIFA-the Bollywood Oscars, that 'would not have seen even two years ago'.
He added the US welcomed as an important step in this reconciliation process President Rajapaksa's appointment of the LLRC, and the Interagency Advisory Committee.
'We look forward to the final report to President Rajapaksa shortly after its work concludes in May. We hope that the report will be made public and will include strong recommendations for national reconciliation', he said.
'Ensuring peace and security for all Sri Lankans is essential. To this end the government has said it plans to strengthen firearms laws and to help law enforcement officials learn to speak the language of those they are charged with protecting. The government has hired 335 Tamil police officers and plans to recruit an additional 475 Tamil-speakers for inspector and constable positions. The trilingual national language policy also will be important in bringing Sri Lankans together'.
'An increasing number of Sri Lankans displaced prior to 2008, including those who went as refugees to India, are also returning to their homes', he said.
He pointed out that the Government, together with demining NGOs and U.S. support, has made 'considerable progress' in demining to accelerate resettlement, clearing over 5 million square meters of mine-infested land throughout the northern provinces of Sri Lanka , and destroying over 25,000 landmines and unexploded ordinance.
Sri Lanka is also proceeding with creating places for people to go home by reducing the area considered to be "High Security Zones", which had restricted freedom of movement and access, he pointed out.
Interagency Advisory Committee (IAAC), set up to implement the interim recommendations of the LLRC, has said that the high security zones have been reduced by 25 square kilometers, making some 2,800 homes accessible. In collaboration with international partners, the Government also has plans to construct an additional 100,000 homes in the north giving priority to families who suffered during the conflict, he said.
It is also important that the LLRC and the Advisory Committee, in consultation with Tamils and other minority communities, find a way to resolve the often conflicting and tangled claims to land in former conflict zones so families may rebuild their lives, he pointed out.
Blake added, 'the U.S. is concerned, however, that some developments are shrinking the democratic space and respect for human rights in the country'.
Nearly two years after the conclusion of the fighting, substantial parts of the emergency regulations remain in place, the north continues to be heavily militarized, and the role of the armed forces appears to have increased with the Ministry of Defense assuming responsibility in non-traditional areas such as urban development, he said.
An unfettered media environment in which journalists can work without intimidation or interference, and incidents against journalists are credibly investigated and prosecuted, is essential for the reconciliation process, he added.
He also said that deaths during the conflict must be investigated and those who committed wrong-doing must be brought to justice.
I encourage Sri Lankans living overseas to respond to overtures from the Government of Sri Lanka and opportunities to promote development and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, he said in his concluding remarks, adding 'the end of the conflict presents an opening for everyone that is a friend and partner of the country to help realize the dream of opportunity for all Sri Lankans'.
Courtesy : President's Media unit
Economic revival in full swing in North - Amb Kohona
Reconciliation efforts underway
The economic imperatives were recognized immediately by the government once the conflict ended and the economic revival is in full swing in the North, stated Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Dr. Palitha Kohona at a discussion on Sri Lanka's post-conflict rebuilding at Asia Society, New York on 14 March.
He said that resettling the displaced was the immediate priority and today over 95% of the original 294,000 IDPs have returned to their villages. The remaining 17,000 have been permitted to leave, but have chosen to remain because of the facilities available in the camps, he said.
With regard to reintegrating ex-LTTE combatants into civilian society, Ambassador Kohona said that the government has adopted an extremely conciliatory attitude towards former combatants.
'The Government decided to treat most of them as victims rather than as criminals'.
He pointed out that in less than 15 months since the end of the conflict over 6000 ex-combatants out of the 11,700 identified, have been reintegrated after providing vocational and other trainings. The Ambassador added that the government has implemented a clear policy to return child combatants to their own families, communities and schools after providing them with catch-up education, counseling as well as English and IT training.
He also stated that the Ambepussa rehabilitation center set up for child combatants and received high praise from visitors, will be closed this year. All those at the Ratmalana rehabilitation centre have now been returned to their own communities and parents, he said.
A remarkable level of confidence has returned to the country contributing to the reconstruction effort, he said and explained the post-conflict recovery efforts.
Over 850 schools and all the hospitals and clinics have been rehabilitated and hundreds of miles of roads and power lines have been restored. Agricultural and fisheries production in the former LTTE controlled areas has continued to surge. 200,000 acres of rice have come under the plough. An additional 75,000 tons of fish from the North and the East are now added to the market monthly. The government has committed $ 360 million to the development of the North, he said.
He also illustrated the business opportunities now available with the end of the conflict.
'The revival of business confidence has been largely independent of government involvement' although it 'firmly encouraged these economic trends'. The Ambassador pointed out the record upward movement in the stock market (over 180% increase) and steady inward investment flows which reflect this confidence.
Inward tourism has rebounded by over 50% since January 2010 and there is interest from foreign investors, including large hotel chains such as Shangrila.
Ambassador Kohona added that minorities have continued to prosper in majority Sinhala areas of the country, including Colombo where many of the leading professionals in Colombo come from the minority communities and no restrictions exist on their lives, socially or economically.
With reference to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) he pointed out that it included representatives from the minorities as well and it is hoped that the LLRC will address the concerns expressed by interested persons, primarily with a view to facilitating the return to normalcy and helping the country to recover from its 27 year nightmare of terrorism. He added that the LLRC has, through a public notification, made it possible even for the SG's Panel of Experts to make submissions before it.
Comments from Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, and former United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake
Addressing the gathering Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, and former United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake stated, 'in the nearly two years since the end of the conflict, Sri Lanka has made steady progress in normalizing life for its citizens and reconciling the differences that devastated parts of the island for so many years, but there is much that remains to be done'.
The end of the conflict has presented an incredible opportunity to build a peaceful, just, democratic, united Sri Lanka, he stated, adding, 'in the spirit of friendship and partnership, the United States has not wavered in our support for the people of Sri Lanka , providing humanitarian and livelihood assistance as the country rebuilds itself'.
'The U.S. is ready to continue helping the Sri Lankans to restore their country'.
'It is clear to me that Sri Lanka has the potential to be one of South Asia's bright spots. With 8 percent GDP growth last year, a renewed tide of visiting tourists to take in the country's beautiful scenery and impressive history, and strong investor confidence, the country's economy is on an upward trajectory. Sri Lanka has some of the best health and social indicators in Asia with one of the lowest infant mortality rates and highest literacy rates, 90 percent, in the region, for example. The country has a well-educated young population...'
He highlighted a few events and developments such as the hosting of the Cricket World Cup and IIFA-the Bollywood Oscars, that 'would not have seen even two years ago'.
He added the US welcomed as an important step in this reconciliation process President Rajapaksa's appointment of the LLRC, and the Interagency Advisory Committee.
'We look forward to the final report to President Rajapaksa shortly after its work concludes in May. We hope that the report will be made public and will include strong recommendations for national reconciliation', he said.
'Ensuring peace and security for all Sri Lankans is essential. To this end the government has said it plans to strengthen firearms laws and to help law enforcement officials learn to speak the language of those they are charged with protecting. The government has hired 335 Tamil police officers and plans to recruit an additional 475 Tamil-speakers for inspector and constable positions. The trilingual national language policy also will be important in bringing Sri Lankans together'.
'An increasing number of Sri Lankans displaced prior to 2008, including those who went as refugees to India, are also returning to their homes', he said.
He pointed out that the Government, together with demining NGOs and U.S. support, has made 'considerable progress' in demining to accelerate resettlement, clearing over 5 million square meters of mine-infested land throughout the northern provinces of Sri Lanka , and destroying over 25,000 landmines and unexploded ordinance.
Sri Lanka is also proceeding with creating places for people to go home by reducing the area considered to be "High Security Zones", which had restricted freedom of movement and access, he pointed out.
Interagency Advisory Committee (IAAC), set up to implement the interim recommendations of the LLRC, has said that the high security zones have been reduced by 25 square kilometers, making some 2,800 homes accessible. In collaboration with international partners, the Government also has plans to construct an additional 100,000 homes in the north giving priority to families who suffered during the conflict, he said.
It is also important that the LLRC and the Advisory Committee, in consultation with Tamils and other minority communities, find a way to resolve the often conflicting and tangled claims to land in former conflict zones so families may rebuild their lives, he pointed out.
Blake added, 'the U.S. is concerned, however, that some developments are shrinking the democratic space and respect for human rights in the country'.
Nearly two years after the conclusion of the fighting, substantial parts of the emergency regulations remain in place, the north continues to be heavily militarized, and the role of the armed forces appears to have increased with the Ministry of Defense assuming responsibility in non-traditional areas such as urban development, he said.
An unfettered media environment in which journalists can work without intimidation or interference, and incidents against journalists are credibly investigated and prosecuted, is essential for the reconciliation process, he added.
He also said that deaths during the conflict must be investigated and those who committed wrong-doing must be brought to justice.
I encourage Sri Lankans living overseas to respond to overtures from the Government of Sri Lanka and opportunities to promote development and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, he said in his concluding remarks, adding 'the end of the conflict presents an opening for everyone that is a friend and partner of the country to help realize the dream of opportunity for all Sri Lankans'.
Courtesy : President's Media unit
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Right to roam: tourism returns to North
- The Guardian
With the end to the conflict, millions of acres of pristine beach and jungle in the North have opened up to the kind of tourism enjoyed by the southern part of the country for the past three decades, states The Guardian in a report published on 12 March.
For all the talk of tourism development, it seems appropriate that the most peaceful and uncontroversial first steps in economic progress that I have found are taking place here, the writer said.
The writer also explains his home stay arranged by a Sri Lankan specialist tour operator and details his tour in Sri Lanka.
Full text of the news report follows:
Right to roam: tourism returns to northern Sri Lanka
After 30 war-torn years, northern Sri Lanka is opening up to tourism. Is it too soon to visit its friendly villages and unspoilt beaches?
How soon after a war is it right to start visiting a country? Should you wait for the hatreds to disappear? That could take a very long time. Or is it better to get in there quickly, experiencing the raw emotional intensity of people drunk on peace, and the satisfaction of knowing that your cash helps, even a tiny bit, to secure that peace?
These questions are bouncing around my head as the car bounces over potholes on the road out of the Sri Lankan city of Anuradhapura. This city was the last bastion of safety during much of the recent war: north of here, tourism ended and conflict began. The A12 road that dissects the country and passes through here was used as the cut-off point by the Foreign Office. The landscape of emerald-green paddy fields interspersed with lotus-filled ponds slowly gives way to jungle while the sun sets behind some immense storm clouds.
"There isn't much for the next 100km," says my Sri Lankan guide, Sidantha, who is driving. "In some sections there are hardly any villages before we get to Mannar island."
The trees have been cut back on both sides to make a clear-fire zone, and every 200m there's a military post with a couple of soldiers staring disconsolately at the few passing vehicles. Two years ago this journey would have been impossible at night. Even during the day it would have involved countless checkpoints and searches. As it is, I feel like we are writing a missing chapter from The Quiet American, Graham Greene's acidic commentary on a do-gooder westerner in a tropical troublespot.
With darkness comes a heavy rain that hammers on the car roof. In the light of the car headlamps, the road disappears under clouds of steam, and, as though an order for attack has sounded, legions of frogs and snakes come leaping and slithering across the road. It has a surreal beauty, this scene, with the pale bodies of the frogs leaping clear of the low mist, like salmon fighting their way upriver to a primordial spawning ground. Sidantha, a good Buddhist, slows and weaves to avoid killing them. At first he succeeds, but then there are too many of them and we begin to beat time with the sad soft splat of their bodies.
Beautiful, yet horrible. For much of the past 30 years, it seems to me, the island of Sri Lanka has lived in a similarly sour-sweet atmosphere. There is a smiling side to the place: a land of coconut-fringed beaches, jungled hills and a colourful culture that varying numbers of tourists have been prepared to visit, the variation depending on how much the other, much darker, side has intruded. And the other side has certainly been dark: suicide bombings, ethnic hatreds and cleansings, tales of death squads and unmarked mass graves; most of all the relentless, apparently endless, horror of a big bad war in the north.
But now that war is over. The Tamil Tigers (LTTE - Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) are defeated and their hopes of a separate Tamil state crushed. And with that defeat, millions of acres of pristine beach and jungle in the northern third of the island have opened up to the kind of tourism enjoyed by the southern part of the island for the past three decades.
A glance at a map of the north draws the eye to two obvious protagonists in the coming battle for the tourist dollar. In the far north there is Jaffna, with its huge lagoons and beaches, but that area is still tricky to access, requiring a permit. On the west, there is Mannar island, a 35km spit of sand and coconut trees connected to the mainland by a causeway. Mostly inhabited by Tamil Catholics, it was always government-held during the war, but often surrounded by Tigers territory. Both sides in the conflict committed atrocities: in June 2006, after an attack by the Tigers left 30 sailors from the Sri Lankan navy dead, the church in a nearby fishing village called Pesalai came under a hail of gunfire that killed six people. Locals and independent witnesses held the navy responsible.
It is to Pesalai that I am heading with Sidantha, for a homestay arranged by Sri Lankan specialist tour operator Experience Travel. Homestays are still a rarity in these parts, where tourism is starting from almost zero.
"There haven't been tourists in Mannar for three decades," says Sid. "Someone said two Dutchmen turned up on bikes last year, but apart from that, nothing, till you." Watch out for new editions of guidebooks because change will come quickly.
It is late at night by the time we rattle across the causeway and pass Mannar town, a dilapidated former colonial outpost and the main settlement on the island. The Portuguese built a fort here in 1560, no doubt drawn by the presence of rich pearl beds in the shallow seas nearby. It's not pearls we want, however, but cold beer, something not easily found as there are no bars, only unmarked beer shops tucked away down darkened lanes. Eventually we locate one by the crowd outside: boys selling roasted chickpeas wrapped in scraps of newspaper, and tipsy fishermen who shout good-natured greetings.
We buy supplies, then negotiate the last 15km to Pesalai. Our house is a simple bungalow in a sandy lane surrounded by coconut palms. We wash in delicious cool water hauled up in a
bucket from the well, say a brief hello to our hosts, who live opposite, and fall asleep in seconds. I'm woken by the sound of the women singing next door. Sunlight comes bursting through palm fronds, dappling the whitewashed walls. I can hear the squeak of the pulleys and the hollow rattle of buckets dropping down wells. Children play in the sandy street and some venture past the front fence - like all the fences here it's made from the broad fat stalks of palmyra palm leaves.
We meet Rohan, one of the family hosting us and our local guide. He takes us down to the beach, where the fishermen are landing their catch, huge hauls of finger-long fish that they separate from the nets by the simple and expedient method of shaking the net. The air is full of flying fish. One lands in my camera bag while I'm trying to take pictures. The atmosphere is joyful and filled with happy shouting and laughter. The infrastructure of this place is certainly scarred by war, but the people seem to be fizzing with joie de vivre.
Rohan wants me to try a local favourite, curried squid, and goes off in search. Sid and I get some breakfast: tea and rotis, all the time saying hello to people eager to talk. One man takes me to see the church: a pink wedding cake of a building pockmarked with bullet holes and shrapnel wounds. Everyone here has a story: a house flattened by explosives, a family member abducted and never seen again, or - more often - the urban-legend-tale of the man who got away and is now sending money back from Europe or America.
Out on the other side of the island, a few miles away, we find the fishermen working with beach nets: singing and hauling together on long lines to pull in a vast silvery bag of fish. I join in, at least for the pulling, not the songs. These people look wiry and fit: products of a lifetime eating just fish and rice. There has not, to be honest, been a great deal else for a long time. The beach is perfectly clean and natural, the waves gentle - unlike on the east coast of Sri Lanka, which can be dangerously rough.
Further along the broad beach we meet a community of Singhalese fisherpeople who spend a season here every year, living in palm thatch huts and catching the seasonal fish runs. Everywhere I'm made aware of how intertwined and interdependent the people are. There are Tamils married to Singhalese, Hindus to Christians or Buddhists. Our host family are Singhalese who came from the south 60 years ago, settled on Mannar and became - linguistically and culturally - Tamil. In a war that was driven by ethnic mistrust and racist propaganda, they suffered. Now, however, they look like a hope for the future.
That night we cook a barbecue of squid, crabs and fish. Rohan's mother provides delicious curry sauces. His brother and wife visit; friends gather. There's laughter and stories, and questions for me, some predictable - "What do you think of Sri Lanka?" - others less so - "Do you believe in Armageddon?" They tell stories of wartime: how the Tigers came to the railway station back in 1987 and whipped a crowd of youths into a frenzy of fighting fervour. Those who went with them never came home. Everyone here believes the war is finished for ever. They are eager for the outside world to arrive, although when it does the result is sometimes perplexing. When Sidantha unrolls a piece of kitchen foil to wrap the fish in, one man asks what it is.
A couple more days on the island are spent eating seafood, visiting sites such as the ancient baobabs brought by Arab seafarers from Africa in the 15th century and the supposed graves of Adam and Eve at the tip of the island, near what is known as Adam's Bridge - a series of sandbanks that lead all the way to India 20 miles away. If and when a promised ferry service from Mannar to India begins, the island will undoubtedly clamber aboard the backpacker trail, losing perhaps a little of its charming naivety. For the moment, it is untouched by tourism: I've only been here a short time, but people wave and shout greetings like I'm an old friend. It's this sense of being absorbed, easily and comfortably, into a community that creates the magic in this place.
Early one morning, we walk through a palm grove, silver-grey falcons flitting among the trees, and meet Karunanithy, a toddy tapper. His trade is to shin 15m up the palmyra trees, then shave a sliver of flesh from the flower stalk of the tree with a razor-sharp sickle. Sap then trickles into a collecting pot. The physique and skill of the tappers is awe-inspiring - they would make superb rock-climbers - and when Karunanithy finally jumps down with a pot of juice, I'm eager to try it. In a few seconds he fashions a drinking bowl from a palm leaf, then hands me a litre of foaming milky white liquid, which starts fermenting immediately.
"No additives!" encourages Sid. "Totally organic and natural." Some people love toddy. For me it tastes like a delicious homemade lemonade that was inadvertently left overnight in a pair of your grandfather's underpants. I imbibe sparingly.
One day we drive off the island and south into a region that has recently been reclaimed by a Muslim population whom the Tigers had ethnically cleansed 20 years ago. The bay was once a premier pearl fishery - so famous that Bizet set his opera The Pearl Fishers here.
On a long beach we find the ruins of a house built by the first English governor, Sir Frederick North, in 1804. It has now mostly tumbled into the waves. In the nearby village of Arippu there are further poignant reminders of former times in the 17th-century Dutch fort. First is a grave - "Charles Lays - died of sunstroke 1878" - and then a plaque for Robert Knox, an English sailor who was held captive on the island by the Rajah of Kandy for 19 years before he managed to escape to this lonely Dutch outpost in 1679. Back in London he wrote a bestseller and the first account of the island in English, incidentally introducing the word Buddha to the English language. Knox's experiences also helped feed the newly coined ideal of a tropical island as a paradise, the very ideal that drives much of Sri Lankan tourism today.
My time on Mannar is over and I head across the island, dipping south into what is, and was, tourist territory. The contrast is marked: less military and police, more traffic and bustle. The people are certainly more accustomed to visitors. I stop at two lovely eco-retreats: first the Mudhouse, a place that is gathering a reputation for superb service matched with total simplicity. I sleep under a thatched shelter and mozzie net in the middle of the jungle, waking to birdsong and a man on a bicycle with a tea tray. The second is Back of Beyond, a good wildlife and bird-watching jungle retreat at Pidurangala, equally simple and handy for visiting the mountain fortress at Sigiriya and the superb cave temples of Dambulla.
Heading north and east to the coast, I'm back into what were Tigers danger areas, but now the problem is flood-damaged roads after a particularly heavy monsoon season. Nevertheless, freedom from war has brought big ambitions for tourism. Many hotels are being proposed, some of them vast and costly. Despite the fact that most development is coming from Singhalese businessmen, often with political connections, local Tamils that I spoke to did not mind. Even at Santhively, near the east-coast port of Batticaloa, where fishermen are being evicted from the beach, ostensibly to prevent tsunami losses, but coincidentally to make way for a hotel, they are welcoming the construction. "It's good," they tell me. "We want progress." What benefit they will ever get remains to be seen.
At Trincomalee, a vibrant port city possessed of a magnificent anchorage, I bump into Mark Davis, gardener with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. "We couldn't get in here for 20 years," he tells me. "It was just too dangerous."
The cemetery holds 362 graves from the second world war. Mark's workers are young men, the sort who not so long ago might have expected to be fighting themselves on one side or the other. Now they are eagerly learning the trade of gardening, discussing plantings and turf types. For all the talk of tourism development, it seems appropriate that the most peaceful and uncontroversial first steps in economic progress that I have found are taking place here, in a war cemetery.
Courtesy: The Guradian
- The Guardian
With the end to the conflict, millions of acres of pristine beach and jungle in the North have opened up to the kind of tourism enjoyed by the southern part of the country for the past three decades, states The Guardian in a report published on 12 March.
For all the talk of tourism development, it seems appropriate that the most peaceful and uncontroversial first steps in economic progress that I have found are taking place here, the writer said.
The writer also explains his home stay arranged by a Sri Lankan specialist tour operator and details his tour in Sri Lanka.
Full text of the news report follows:
Right to roam: tourism returns to northern Sri Lanka
After 30 war-torn years, northern Sri Lanka is opening up to tourism. Is it too soon to visit its friendly villages and unspoilt beaches?
How soon after a war is it right to start visiting a country? Should you wait for the hatreds to disappear? That could take a very long time. Or is it better to get in there quickly, experiencing the raw emotional intensity of people drunk on peace, and the satisfaction of knowing that your cash helps, even a tiny bit, to secure that peace?
These questions are bouncing around my head as the car bounces over potholes on the road out of the Sri Lankan city of Anuradhapura. This city was the last bastion of safety during much of the recent war: north of here, tourism ended and conflict began. The A12 road that dissects the country and passes through here was used as the cut-off point by the Foreign Office. The landscape of emerald-green paddy fields interspersed with lotus-filled ponds slowly gives way to jungle while the sun sets behind some immense storm clouds.
"There isn't much for the next 100km," says my Sri Lankan guide, Sidantha, who is driving. "In some sections there are hardly any villages before we get to Mannar island."
The trees have been cut back on both sides to make a clear-fire zone, and every 200m there's a military post with a couple of soldiers staring disconsolately at the few passing vehicles. Two years ago this journey would have been impossible at night. Even during the day it would have involved countless checkpoints and searches. As it is, I feel like we are writing a missing chapter from The Quiet American, Graham Greene's acidic commentary on a do-gooder westerner in a tropical troublespot.
With darkness comes a heavy rain that hammers on the car roof. In the light of the car headlamps, the road disappears under clouds of steam, and, as though an order for attack has sounded, legions of frogs and snakes come leaping and slithering across the road. It has a surreal beauty, this scene, with the pale bodies of the frogs leaping clear of the low mist, like salmon fighting their way upriver to a primordial spawning ground. Sidantha, a good Buddhist, slows and weaves to avoid killing them. At first he succeeds, but then there are too many of them and we begin to beat time with the sad soft splat of their bodies.
Beautiful, yet horrible. For much of the past 30 years, it seems to me, the island of Sri Lanka has lived in a similarly sour-sweet atmosphere. There is a smiling side to the place: a land of coconut-fringed beaches, jungled hills and a colourful culture that varying numbers of tourists have been prepared to visit, the variation depending on how much the other, much darker, side has intruded. And the other side has certainly been dark: suicide bombings, ethnic hatreds and cleansings, tales of death squads and unmarked mass graves; most of all the relentless, apparently endless, horror of a big bad war in the north.
But now that war is over. The Tamil Tigers (LTTE - Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) are defeated and their hopes of a separate Tamil state crushed. And with that defeat, millions of acres of pristine beach and jungle in the northern third of the island have opened up to the kind of tourism enjoyed by the southern part of the island for the past three decades.
A glance at a map of the north draws the eye to two obvious protagonists in the coming battle for the tourist dollar. In the far north there is Jaffna, with its huge lagoons and beaches, but that area is still tricky to access, requiring a permit. On the west, there is Mannar island, a 35km spit of sand and coconut trees connected to the mainland by a causeway. Mostly inhabited by Tamil Catholics, it was always government-held during the war, but often surrounded by Tigers territory. Both sides in the conflict committed atrocities: in June 2006, after an attack by the Tigers left 30 sailors from the Sri Lankan navy dead, the church in a nearby fishing village called Pesalai came under a hail of gunfire that killed six people. Locals and independent witnesses held the navy responsible.
It is to Pesalai that I am heading with Sidantha, for a homestay arranged by Sri Lankan specialist tour operator Experience Travel. Homestays are still a rarity in these parts, where tourism is starting from almost zero.
"There haven't been tourists in Mannar for three decades," says Sid. "Someone said two Dutchmen turned up on bikes last year, but apart from that, nothing, till you." Watch out for new editions of guidebooks because change will come quickly.
It is late at night by the time we rattle across the causeway and pass Mannar town, a dilapidated former colonial outpost and the main settlement on the island. The Portuguese built a fort here in 1560, no doubt drawn by the presence of rich pearl beds in the shallow seas nearby. It's not pearls we want, however, but cold beer, something not easily found as there are no bars, only unmarked beer shops tucked away down darkened lanes. Eventually we locate one by the crowd outside: boys selling roasted chickpeas wrapped in scraps of newspaper, and tipsy fishermen who shout good-natured greetings.
We buy supplies, then negotiate the last 15km to Pesalai. Our house is a simple bungalow in a sandy lane surrounded by coconut palms. We wash in delicious cool water hauled up in a
bucket from the well, say a brief hello to our hosts, who live opposite, and fall asleep in seconds. I'm woken by the sound of the women singing next door. Sunlight comes bursting through palm fronds, dappling the whitewashed walls. I can hear the squeak of the pulleys and the hollow rattle of buckets dropping down wells. Children play in the sandy street and some venture past the front fence - like all the fences here it's made from the broad fat stalks of palmyra palm leaves.
We meet Rohan, one of the family hosting us and our local guide. He takes us down to the beach, where the fishermen are landing their catch, huge hauls of finger-long fish that they separate from the nets by the simple and expedient method of shaking the net. The air is full of flying fish. One lands in my camera bag while I'm trying to take pictures. The atmosphere is joyful and filled with happy shouting and laughter. The infrastructure of this place is certainly scarred by war, but the people seem to be fizzing with joie de vivre.
Rohan wants me to try a local favourite, curried squid, and goes off in search. Sid and I get some breakfast: tea and rotis, all the time saying hello to people eager to talk. One man takes me to see the church: a pink wedding cake of a building pockmarked with bullet holes and shrapnel wounds. Everyone here has a story: a house flattened by explosives, a family member abducted and never seen again, or - more often - the urban-legend-tale of the man who got away and is now sending money back from Europe or America.
Out on the other side of the island, a few miles away, we find the fishermen working with beach nets: singing and hauling together on long lines to pull in a vast silvery bag of fish. I join in, at least for the pulling, not the songs. These people look wiry and fit: products of a lifetime eating just fish and rice. There has not, to be honest, been a great deal else for a long time. The beach is perfectly clean and natural, the waves gentle - unlike on the east coast of Sri Lanka, which can be dangerously rough.
Further along the broad beach we meet a community of Singhalese fisherpeople who spend a season here every year, living in palm thatch huts and catching the seasonal fish runs. Everywhere I'm made aware of how intertwined and interdependent the people are. There are Tamils married to Singhalese, Hindus to Christians or Buddhists. Our host family are Singhalese who came from the south 60 years ago, settled on Mannar and became - linguistically and culturally - Tamil. In a war that was driven by ethnic mistrust and racist propaganda, they suffered. Now, however, they look like a hope for the future.
That night we cook a barbecue of squid, crabs and fish. Rohan's mother provides delicious curry sauces. His brother and wife visit; friends gather. There's laughter and stories, and questions for me, some predictable - "What do you think of Sri Lanka?" - others less so - "Do you believe in Armageddon?" They tell stories of wartime: how the Tigers came to the railway station back in 1987 and whipped a crowd of youths into a frenzy of fighting fervour. Those who went with them never came home. Everyone here believes the war is finished for ever. They are eager for the outside world to arrive, although when it does the result is sometimes perplexing. When Sidantha unrolls a piece of kitchen foil to wrap the fish in, one man asks what it is.
A couple more days on the island are spent eating seafood, visiting sites such as the ancient baobabs brought by Arab seafarers from Africa in the 15th century and the supposed graves of Adam and Eve at the tip of the island, near what is known as Adam's Bridge - a series of sandbanks that lead all the way to India 20 miles away. If and when a promised ferry service from Mannar to India begins, the island will undoubtedly clamber aboard the backpacker trail, losing perhaps a little of its charming naivety. For the moment, it is untouched by tourism: I've only been here a short time, but people wave and shout greetings like I'm an old friend. It's this sense of being absorbed, easily and comfortably, into a community that creates the magic in this place.
Early one morning, we walk through a palm grove, silver-grey falcons flitting among the trees, and meet Karunanithy, a toddy tapper. His trade is to shin 15m up the palmyra trees, then shave a sliver of flesh from the flower stalk of the tree with a razor-sharp sickle. Sap then trickles into a collecting pot. The physique and skill of the tappers is awe-inspiring - they would make superb rock-climbers - and when Karunanithy finally jumps down with a pot of juice, I'm eager to try it. In a few seconds he fashions a drinking bowl from a palm leaf, then hands me a litre of foaming milky white liquid, which starts fermenting immediately.
"No additives!" encourages Sid. "Totally organic and natural." Some people love toddy. For me it tastes like a delicious homemade lemonade that was inadvertently left overnight in a pair of your grandfather's underpants. I imbibe sparingly.
One day we drive off the island and south into a region that has recently been reclaimed by a Muslim population whom the Tigers had ethnically cleansed 20 years ago. The bay was once a premier pearl fishery - so famous that Bizet set his opera The Pearl Fishers here.
On a long beach we find the ruins of a house built by the first English governor, Sir Frederick North, in 1804. It has now mostly tumbled into the waves. In the nearby village of Arippu there are further poignant reminders of former times in the 17th-century Dutch fort. First is a grave - "Charles Lays - died of sunstroke 1878" - and then a plaque for Robert Knox, an English sailor who was held captive on the island by the Rajah of Kandy for 19 years before he managed to escape to this lonely Dutch outpost in 1679. Back in London he wrote a bestseller and the first account of the island in English, incidentally introducing the word Buddha to the English language. Knox's experiences also helped feed the newly coined ideal of a tropical island as a paradise, the very ideal that drives much of Sri Lankan tourism today.
My time on Mannar is over and I head across the island, dipping south into what is, and was, tourist territory. The contrast is marked: less military and police, more traffic and bustle. The people are certainly more accustomed to visitors. I stop at two lovely eco-retreats: first the Mudhouse, a place that is gathering a reputation for superb service matched with total simplicity. I sleep under a thatched shelter and mozzie net in the middle of the jungle, waking to birdsong and a man on a bicycle with a tea tray. The second is Back of Beyond, a good wildlife and bird-watching jungle retreat at Pidurangala, equally simple and handy for visiting the mountain fortress at Sigiriya and the superb cave temples of Dambulla.
Heading north and east to the coast, I'm back into what were Tigers danger areas, but now the problem is flood-damaged roads after a particularly heavy monsoon season. Nevertheless, freedom from war has brought big ambitions for tourism. Many hotels are being proposed, some of them vast and costly. Despite the fact that most development is coming from Singhalese businessmen, often with political connections, local Tamils that I spoke to did not mind. Even at Santhively, near the east-coast port of Batticaloa, where fishermen are being evicted from the beach, ostensibly to prevent tsunami losses, but coincidentally to make way for a hotel, they are welcoming the construction. "It's good," they tell me. "We want progress." What benefit they will ever get remains to be seen.
At Trincomalee, a vibrant port city possessed of a magnificent anchorage, I bump into Mark Davis, gardener with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. "We couldn't get in here for 20 years," he tells me. "It was just too dangerous."
The cemetery holds 362 graves from the second world war. Mark's workers are young men, the sort who not so long ago might have expected to be fighting themselves on one side or the other. Now they are eagerly learning the trade of gardening, discussing plantings and turf types. For all the talk of tourism development, it seems appropriate that the most peaceful and uncontroversial first steps in economic progress that I have found are taking place here, in a war cemetery.
Courtesy: The Guradian
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110314_01
Those accusing the government never marched troops to defeat terrorism" - Secretary Defence
In 2005 when H.E President appointed me as Secretary Defence to take in charge of the security forces the term 'war hero' was alien to this nation, the men in uniform were treated as third citizens. Now those who are accusing the government of involving security forces in development work were neither able to march the valiant men into battle which they were trained for.
Secretary Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa expressed these views in the exclusive Rathuira talk show on Swarnavahini yesterday (March 13) evening. He made these comments in reply to a question raised by the host on allegations by opposition groups- involving security forces for development work.
"Every one knows how we suffered for decades. The MOD has initiated various programmes and we are not asleep that the war is over. We will never giveaway for any sort of terrorist organization its front offices or Disapora elements to derail this country's long won peace" he said.
"Those who are claiming to represent 'Tamils' are third generation diaspora children with no clear knowing of the root causes that led to the surge of terrorist violence in this country. Hence, we are in the effort of taking into talks with such groups, educating them on the actual ground situation while engaging them in the development and reconciliation work in North and East", he further said.
.
Overseas Tigers shaken by debilitating split
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110314_03
Overseas Tigers shaken by debilitating split
www.defence.lk" pbshowcaption="true">
Norway-based LTTE faction gains ground as Diaspora battle takes new turn
Norway-based LTTE faction gains ground as Diaspora battle takes new turn A section of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) has revolted against V. Rudrakumaran, the self-appointed Prime Minister of the organisation causing chaos among various Diaspora factions. The rebel group consists of 34 self-styled MPs based in Australia (3), Canada (6), France (3), Germany (7), Italy (1), Denmark (3), Norway (3), Sweden (1) and UK (7).
The TGTE comprised 102 'MPs' based in various parts of the world. Sources told The Island that since the conclusion of the war in May 2009, the US-based one-time legal advisor to the LTTE, Rudrakumaran had spent millions of dollars on the 'TGTE project.' He tried to exploit the arrest and extradition of Selvarasa Pathmanathan aka 'KP' to Colombo in Aug. 2009 to promote TGTE as a government in exile.
Sources based in Western Europe said that rebel 'MPs' of the TGTE had ignored a request by 'Speaker' Pon Balraj of the TGTE to reaffirm their commitment to the 'government in exile' by Mar. 5, 2011. Sources said that Balraj had requested rebels to get in touch with him via email at Speaker@tgte.org or Pon.balarajan@tgte.org.
The TGTE's rebel group has already established a new political wing and aligned itself with Norway-based Perinpanayagam Sivaparan aka Nediyawan, widely believed to be Rudrakumaran's main challenger. Sources said the split in the TGTE had strengthened Nediyawan's efforts to oust Rudrakumaran.
Earlier the rebel group had made an abortive bid to appoint a former pro-Tiger TNA MP as the first 'Prime Minister' of the TGTE. Sources said that Rudrakumaran and the rebel group had been at daggers drawn over the latter's demand to pursue the eelam project in spite of losing their conventional military capability. The rebel group had forced Rudrakumaran to display the LTTE flag at his inaugural speech as the 'Prime Minister' of TGTE, sources said.
The rebel group would eye young members of the Diaspora and that they had declared that they would pursue the LTTE's original goal-a separate state for Tamils in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka. They had set up a three-member executive committee to run the new party, sources said. The committee consists of three 'MPs' based in France, UK and Germany. Besides a nine-member committee has been formed to implement decisions taken by the executive committee, according to sources.
The TGTE rebels had alleged that a section of Rudrakumaran's group had been influenced by the Sri Lankan Intelligence services, a charge vehemently denied by the group, sources said. The rebel group cleverly exploited the demise of Prabhakaran's mother to boost its popularity. Sources said that those operating in Germany had organised several meetings to honour Prabhakaran's mother posthumously.
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110313_01
Sri Lanka is certainly a different country today - Nelson Garcia U.S.
Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the US Jaliya Wickramasuriya said Sri Lanka's greatest victory is the achievement of a lasting peace by ending the three decades long war against LTTE terrorism and now the country embarked on development while promoting reconciliation among all communities.
Ambassador Wickramasuriya, who met the representatives of the Washington Intergovernmental Professional Group, explained to them about current developments in Sri Lanka, country's economy, trade opportunities and relations with the U.S.
"The greatest achievement for Sri Lanka is lasting peace, the ultimate human right.
I invite all of you to visit Sri Lanka.
Talk to the people, see how they feel about peace. I know that if you go there you will experience what I am saying about Sri Lanka, and you can come back here and tell your friends the actual story of Sri Lanka," he said.
The Washington Intergovernmental Professional Group is comprised of attorneys, consultants and former and present government officials who work with the U.S. government and American companies on overseas missions. Some of those attending the Sri Lankan reception had just returned from Sri Lanka, while others had travelled there previously.
Nelson Garcia, Chairman of the Washington Intergovernmental group and a former Congressional staff member who now works in the private sector on transportation issues, noted Sri Lanka's dramatic development since the successful end of its long conflict against terrorism in May 2009.
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110313_02
Eradication of terrorism cause to the development of tourism
According to the sources of Wildlife Department as Sri Lanka government was able to eradicate the terrorism from our country local and foreign tourists who come to visit national parks and other attractive places in Sri Lanka have increased rapidly and the income has doubled.
Because of the terrorists activities prevailed in the country for a long period many tourists were afraid to come to our island and move freely and many countries in the world had imposed travel restrictions on the country. Since the date our valiant forces defeated the terrorism those countries had lifted those travel restrictions and that may cause to the development of the industry.
A total of 33,771 locals and 19,281 foreigners have visited all national parks in the country in January. In February it stood 47104 locals and 21104 foreigners, the Department detailed.
Most number of visitors was reported from Yala with figures at 16,274 locals and 11,787 foreigners. These visits were increased with the opening of all entrance gates to Yala. 5376 locals and 746 foreigners were at the Udawalawe National Park while another 5049 locals and 2776 foreigners visited Horton place, the Department stated.
Improvements in visitor facilities and new additions have attracted more visitors. The department aims at further increasing these numbers within this year.
Eradication of terrorism cause to the development of tourism
According to the sources of Wildlife Department as Sri Lanka government was able to eradicate the terrorism from our country local and foreign tourists who come to visit national parks and other attractive places in Sri Lanka have increased rapidly and the income has doubled.
Because of the terrorists activities prevailed in the country for a long period many tourists were afraid to come to our island and move freely and many countries in the world had imposed travel restrictions on the country. Since the date our valiant forces defeated the terrorism those countries had lifted those travel restrictions and that may cause to the development of the industry.
A total of 33,771 locals and 19,281 foreigners have visited all national parks in the country in January. In February it stood 47104 locals and 21104 foreigners, the Department detailed.
Most number of visitors was reported from Yala with figures at 16,274 locals and 11,787 foreigners. These visits were increased with the opening of all entrance gates to Yala. 5376 locals and 746 foreigners were at the Udawalawe National Park while another 5049 locals and 2776 foreigners visited Horton place, the Department stated.
Improvements in visitor facilities and new additions have attracted more visitors. The department aims at further increasing these numbers within this year.
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110312_02
Hosting WC possible due to LTTE defeat - Shavendra
Sri Lanka's Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN Maj. Gen. Shavendra Silva says the country would have lost an opportunity to host some of the World Cup cricket matches if the government had failed in its mission to eradicate the LTTE.
The former General Officer Commanding (GOC) of SLA's 58 Division was responding to a query by The Island in the wake of latest Indian media reports of joint plans by Al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to mount deadly terror attacks on one or more of the match venues.
The LeT is under investigation for Mumbai massacre in late Nov. 2008, while the US holds David Hadley (US national) for helping LeT to plan the operation.
Maj. Gen. Silva said the collapse of the LTTE on the banks of Nanthikadal lagoon in May, 2009 had created an environment conducive for any international event. The soldier turned diplomat said that the army had ensured an incident-free situation, under which Kumar Sangakkara's team could concentrate on the game.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) refused to schedule matches in Pakistan, one of the contenders for this year's championship, citing security fears, paving the way for India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to share matches among them.
Maj. Gen. Silva said that the LTTE had lost its conventional fighting capability along with its sea and air assets and no longer posed a threat.
Another military official said that during the last SAARC summit in July 2008, India went to the extent of deploying warships off Colombo due to the perceived threat posed by the LTTE, particularly its air wing. Sources said that in the previous year, Australia and West Indies declined to play their World Cup cricket matches in Sri Lanka fearing possible LTTE attacks.
Maj. Gen. Silva said that the bottom line was that Sri Lanka's bid to host some of the matches solely depended on the eradication of the LTTE. Responding to a query, the Gajaba veteran said that since the conclusion of war all countries had lifted travel restrictions imposed on Sri Lanka and also did away with damaging war risk insurance slapped on shipping lines operating services to and from Colombo harbor.
Maj. Gen. Silva said that even those Tamil Diaspora elements who lashed out at the government during military operations today visit their homes in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
Courtesy : The Island
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110311_02
Questions raised on Tamil organization in Canada
A former member of a Canadian Tamil organization namely the National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT) described as "a peaceful separatist group" by the Ontario Progressive Conservatives is revealed to have attended a weapons training session with the LTTE in Sri Lanka in 2003.
A photograph of the training session, used by U.S. authorities to convict a Toronto man who tried to buy arms for the Tigers in 2006, raises new questions about the NCCT, a group linked to a Tory candidate from the Toronto area, The Globe and Mail revealed.
Click for image >>>
A man shown in the weapons-training photo, Thiva Paramsothy, won a seat on the NCCT in an election last June but has since stepped down. The election was supervised by Shan Thayaparan, who was recently named the PC candidate for Markham-Unionville.
Two Tiger fighters in striped camouflage, along with Paramsothy and his rifle-toting Toronto friend, Satha Sarachandran, are clearly visible in U.S. Government Exhibit F2, a photograph used by American prosecutors to send Sarachandran to prison for 26 years in early 2010.
Sarachandran, a one-time national president of the Canadian Tamil Students Association, had travelled to New York with three other men in August of 2006 in a bid to buy about $1-million worth of anti-aircraft missiles and AK-47 assault rifles to be sent to the LTTE in Sri Lanka. The arms dealers he met turned out to be undercover FBI agents, who had conducted a joint investigation with the RCMP.
At the time of his friend's arrest, Paramsothy, a youth worker in Toronto's Tamil community, told The Globe and Mail, "My understanding is he got mixed up with the wrong people at the wrong time."
Paramsothy and Sarachandran had travelled to Sri Lanka in 2003, during the ceasefire, and attended a LTTE shooting range together.
Asked Wednesday about the weapons training, Paramsothy, who is in his early 30s, said he and his friend were among young Tamils from around the world who used the ceasefire as a chance to return to Sri Lanka and learn "what the struggle is about."
Paramsothy, volunteer chairman of the Canadian Tamil Youth Development Centre (CanTYD), described the trip as "a journey ... to go back home and see the country where my parents were born, and experience it," he said.
The NCCT was formed in the wake of the LTTE's defeat in May of 2009. The new body was steered by Nehru Gunaratnam, a former spokesman from the World Tamil Movement, which the federal government banned as a Tiger front in 2008. The Tigers were outlawed in 2006, and the World Tamil Movement's offices were raided by the RCMP shortly after that.
Questions raised on Tamil organization in Canada
A former member of a Canadian Tamil organization namely the National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT) described as "a peaceful separatist group" by the Ontario Progressive Conservatives is revealed to have attended a weapons training session with the LTTE in Sri Lanka in 2003.
A photograph of the training session, used by U.S. authorities to convict a Toronto man who tried to buy arms for the Tigers in 2006, raises new questions about the NCCT, a group linked to a Tory candidate from the Toronto area, The Globe and Mail revealed.
Click for image >>>
A man shown in the weapons-training photo, Thiva Paramsothy, won a seat on the NCCT in an election last June but has since stepped down. The election was supervised by Shan Thayaparan, who was recently named the PC candidate for Markham-Unionville.
Two Tiger fighters in striped camouflage, along with Paramsothy and his rifle-toting Toronto friend, Satha Sarachandran, are clearly visible in U.S. Government Exhibit F2, a photograph used by American prosecutors to send Sarachandran to prison for 26 years in early 2010.
Sarachandran, a one-time national president of the Canadian Tamil Students Association, had travelled to New York with three other men in August of 2006 in a bid to buy about $1-million worth of anti-aircraft missiles and AK-47 assault rifles to be sent to the LTTE in Sri Lanka. The arms dealers he met turned out to be undercover FBI agents, who had conducted a joint investigation with the RCMP.
At the time of his friend's arrest, Paramsothy, a youth worker in Toronto's Tamil community, told The Globe and Mail, "My understanding is he got mixed up with the wrong people at the wrong time."
Paramsothy and Sarachandran had travelled to Sri Lanka in 2003, during the ceasefire, and attended a LTTE shooting range together.
Asked Wednesday about the weapons training, Paramsothy, who is in his early 30s, said he and his friend were among young Tamils from around the world who used the ceasefire as a chance to return to Sri Lanka and learn "what the struggle is about."
Paramsothy, volunteer chairman of the Canadian Tamil Youth Development Centre (CanTYD), described the trip as "a journey ... to go back home and see the country where my parents were born, and experience it," he said.
The NCCT was formed in the wake of the LTTE's defeat in May of 2009. The new body was steered by Nehru Gunaratnam, a former spokesman from the World Tamil Movement, which the federal government banned as a Tiger front in 2008. The Tigers were outlawed in 2006, and the World Tamil Movement's offices were raided by the RCMP shortly after that.
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110310_02
North cannot be considered less privileged today - President
With the rapid development taking place in the North under the "Uthuru Wasanthaya" (Northern Spring) programme, the North now cannot be called a less privileged or remote area, stated President Mahinda Rajapaksa and stressed he is committed to serve all the people in this country regardless of ethnic, religious or cultural differences.
The President said so at the United People's Freedom Alliance's (UPFA) Mannar district rally held yesterday (08) at the Mannar Urban Council Sports Stadium under the theme "Sapiri Gamak-Supiri Ratak" (an abundant village-a self-sufficient nation).
The benefits of development should reach all citizens of this country, be it North, South, East or West, the President said. "We are one nation, we must treat everyone equally", he added.
We carried out development programmes while fighting terrorism. People in the North are able to carry out their livelihoods without obstacle. Fishing has commenced and the Government has taken steps to find solutions to the problems faced by fishermen.
"We must rally round the programmes which develop the village", President Rajapaksa said.
The Government has already commenced establishing one million domestic economic units. We will transform a family to a domestic economic unit and through this we expect to strengthen their economic level, he said.
Courtesy : President's Media Unit
North cannot be considered less privileged today - President
With the rapid development taking place in the North under the "Uthuru Wasanthaya" (Northern Spring) programme, the North now cannot be called a less privileged or remote area, stated President Mahinda Rajapaksa and stressed he is committed to serve all the people in this country regardless of ethnic, religious or cultural differences.
The President said so at the United People's Freedom Alliance's (UPFA) Mannar district rally held yesterday (08) at the Mannar Urban Council Sports Stadium under the theme "Sapiri Gamak-Supiri Ratak" (an abundant village-a self-sufficient nation).
The benefits of development should reach all citizens of this country, be it North, South, East or West, the President said. "We are one nation, we must treat everyone equally", he added.
We carried out development programmes while fighting terrorism. People in the North are able to carry out their livelihoods without obstacle. Fishing has commenced and the Government has taken steps to find solutions to the problems faced by fishermen.
"We must rally round the programmes which develop the village", President Rajapaksa said.
The Government has already commenced establishing one million domestic economic units. We will transform a family to a domestic economic unit and through this we expect to strengthen their economic level, he said.
Courtesy : President's Media Unit
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110309_04
IAC progress remarkable - Minister Samarasinghe
'Foreign envoys appreciated SL reconciliation efforts'
Plantation Industries Minister and Presidential nominee on Human Rights Affairs Mahinda Samarasinghe said that he met more than 50 envoys representing a number of countries in Geneva and they understood the importance of having an internal mechanism to look into what actually happened during the time of conflict.
"The majority of them appreciated what we are doing to improve infrastructure in the former war zone. They were also pleased about the ongoing LLRC process and rehabilitation of LTTE cadres," he said, adding that a majority of member states of the UN Human Rights Commission appreciated Sri Lanka's reconciliation efforts.
He said so addressing the media yesterday (8) on his return from Geneva, where he briefed the Human Rights Commission of post-conflict reconciliation and rehabilitation efforts.
The Inter Agency Committee (IAC) appointed to facilitate the implementation of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) recommendations has made remarkable progress, he added.
He criticised ongoing attempts in some quarters to undermine the LLRC and said they have arrived at pre-conceived notions without any rational basis that the LLRC is a non-independent body even before the final report is out.
He added that no person can claim that the LLRC comprised Government's representatives as they are eminent persons who excelled in many fields in the country. He said the Commission has already issued an interim report to the President.
"We will ensure that the LLRC recommendations are implemented in the country," he said.
The Minister also said that the reconciliation commission appointed by the President met people in the North and East as well as ex-LTTE cadres and recorded evidence from them.
He also pointed out that the Government has received information that certain members of the Tamil Diaspora are still involved in extorting money, purchasing arms and drug peddling. The Minister said that a number of LTTE activists who were involved in such activities were arrested by Canada, Switzerland and Norway during the last two weeks.
Pointing out that the Government deals only with the UN Secretary General, Minister Samarasinghe stressed that the Government has no dealing with the members of the UN panel.
He also said the Government is committed to implement the National Human Rights Action Plan to further promote Human Rights in Sri Lanka. This Action Plan would be implemented soon, he said.
He pointed out that a special committee is in the process of formulating this National Human Rights Action Plan. The committee headed by the Attorney General comprises representatives of various ministries and civil society organizations.
Courtesy : President's Media Unit
IAC progress remarkable - Minister Samarasinghe
'Foreign envoys appreciated SL reconciliation efforts'
Plantation Industries Minister and Presidential nominee on Human Rights Affairs Mahinda Samarasinghe said that he met more than 50 envoys representing a number of countries in Geneva and they understood the importance of having an internal mechanism to look into what actually happened during the time of conflict.
"The majority of them appreciated what we are doing to improve infrastructure in the former war zone. They were also pleased about the ongoing LLRC process and rehabilitation of LTTE cadres," he said, adding that a majority of member states of the UN Human Rights Commission appreciated Sri Lanka's reconciliation efforts.
He said so addressing the media yesterday (8) on his return from Geneva, where he briefed the Human Rights Commission of post-conflict reconciliation and rehabilitation efforts.
The Inter Agency Committee (IAC) appointed to facilitate the implementation of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) recommendations has made remarkable progress, he added.
He criticised ongoing attempts in some quarters to undermine the LLRC and said they have arrived at pre-conceived notions without any rational basis that the LLRC is a non-independent body even before the final report is out.
He added that no person can claim that the LLRC comprised Government's representatives as they are eminent persons who excelled in many fields in the country. He said the Commission has already issued an interim report to the President.
"We will ensure that the LLRC recommendations are implemented in the country," he said.
The Minister also said that the reconciliation commission appointed by the President met people in the North and East as well as ex-LTTE cadres and recorded evidence from them.
He also pointed out that the Government has received information that certain members of the Tamil Diaspora are still involved in extorting money, purchasing arms and drug peddling. The Minister said that a number of LTTE activists who were involved in such activities were arrested by Canada, Switzerland and Norway during the last two weeks.
Pointing out that the Government deals only with the UN Secretary General, Minister Samarasinghe stressed that the Government has no dealing with the members of the UN panel.
He also said the Government is committed to implement the National Human Rights Action Plan to further promote Human Rights in Sri Lanka. This Action Plan would be implemented soon, he said.
He pointed out that a special committee is in the process of formulating this National Human Rights Action Plan. The committee headed by the Attorney General comprises representatives of various ministries and civil society organizations.
Courtesy : President's Media Unit
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110309_05
Canada deports MV Sun Sea migrantFound he was a member of LTTEA Tamil migrant out of the hundreds who came ashore in Canada last summer onboard MV Sun Sea was ordered to deport Tuesday after he was found by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) to have been a member of the banned terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The man admitted to being a member of the Sea Tigers. He was injured in a battle in 1994 in a mission to destroy a Sri Lankan naval ship, which failed; the Vancouver Sun reported quoting IRB spokesperson Melissa Anderson, who attended Tuesday's hearing.
He is the first of the 492 migrants who arrived on the MV Sun Sea last year to be deported due to links to the LTTE.
"The Immigration and Refugee Board has determined the subject to be a risk to our national security and is not admissible to Canada under our laws," Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said in a statement. "Today's decision is an unmitigated victory for the rule of law.
"Our government will continue our fight to preserve the integrity of our immigration system for those who come to Canada lawfully — including all legitimate refugees. Canada will continue to opens its doors to those who work hard and play by the rules."
According to Anderson, at Tuesday's hearing, Carla Medley, a Canada Border Services Agency representative, told the board that the migrant had undergone basic training for three or four months and also received combat training where he learned to fire a weapon.
He was then recruited to join the Tigers' naval wing — the Sea Tigers — in 1993 and worked as a motor mechanic.
The role he performed was "not marginal," Medley said, according to Anderson.
Under Canadian immigration law, the immigration board only has to find that there are "reasonable grounds to believe" the migrant was a member of the Tigers. In his ruling, adjudicator Michael McPhalen said the threshold had been met and ordered the migrant deported.
In 2009, another vessel — the Ocean Lady — carrying 76 Tamil migrants arrived on B.C.'s coast.
Canada deports MV Sun Sea migrantFound he was a member of LTTEA Tamil migrant out of the hundreds who came ashore in Canada last summer onboard MV Sun Sea was ordered to deport Tuesday after he was found by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) to have been a member of the banned terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The man admitted to being a member of the Sea Tigers. He was injured in a battle in 1994 in a mission to destroy a Sri Lankan naval ship, which failed; the Vancouver Sun reported quoting IRB spokesperson Melissa Anderson, who attended Tuesday's hearing.
He is the first of the 492 migrants who arrived on the MV Sun Sea last year to be deported due to links to the LTTE.
"The Immigration and Refugee Board has determined the subject to be a risk to our national security and is not admissible to Canada under our laws," Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said in a statement. "Today's decision is an unmitigated victory for the rule of law.
"Our government will continue our fight to preserve the integrity of our immigration system for those who come to Canada lawfully — including all legitimate refugees. Canada will continue to opens its doors to those who work hard and play by the rules."
According to Anderson, at Tuesday's hearing, Carla Medley, a Canada Border Services Agency representative, told the board that the migrant had undergone basic training for three or four months and also received combat training where he learned to fire a weapon.
He was then recruited to join the Tigers' naval wing — the Sea Tigers — in 1993 and worked as a motor mechanic.
The role he performed was "not marginal," Medley said, according to Anderson.
Under Canadian immigration law, the immigration board only has to find that there are "reasonable grounds to believe" the migrant was a member of the Tigers. In his ruling, adjudicator Michael McPhalen said the threshold had been met and ordered the migrant deported.
In 2009, another vessel — the Ocean Lady — carrying 76 Tamil migrants arrived on B.C.'s coast.
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110308_02
Brazil welcomes SL's post-conflict progress
Brazil’s External Relation Minister Mr.Antonio Patriota highly appreciated the post –conflict progress achieved by Sri Lanka on many sections and admired President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s success in combining economic progress with equity, and human and social development.
Brazilian Minister made this comment when he paid a courtesy call on Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa at President House yesterday (7th March).
There the Sri Lankan President explained the Brazilian Minister about the post conflict reconstruction including the rehabilitation and reconciliation aspects. He further made him convince that Sri Lanka has already recorded eight percent economic growth with the re-establishment of security and political stability,
The visiting Brazilian Minister conveyed the felicitation of the President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff to President Rajapaksa on the restoration of peace and stability in Sri Lanka.
During the discussion President Rajapaksa mentioned that his vision was to transform Sri Lanka into a major regional hub for energy, knowledge, maritime services, aviation and tourism and he further appreciated the Brazlian President’s effort that he made to achieve the economic stability and the social progress in Brazil.
The Brazilian Minister accompanied by a delegation of senior officials arrived in Sri Lanka on Saturday for a three-day official visit.
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110307_02
Canadian Tamil husband portrays 'White Van' gimmick to elude homicide
www.defence.lk">Swift investigations and timely action initiated by Jaffna security forces Head Quarters have led to an arrest of a homicide suspect and rescue of an abducted 15 year old child in Jaffna. According to Jaffna security forces Head Quarters, the arrest of the killer and aide was made within 24hours of the incident that laid trail to a startling revelation.
As per Chavachcheri Police, sting operations are now under way with the assistance of security forces to arrest remaining suspects/assassins.
The killer indentified as Selvathurai Kuhadhas, Canadian Tamil citizen, arrived in Sri Lanka on the 1st week of March driven with a subtle motive of reprisal- to kidnap his 15 year old son. Kuhadhas had spent a few days in Colombo preparing for the kill, sketching-out his final moves disguising the brutal act under cover of a "white Van facade".
Kuhadhas had acquired a 'White Dolphin van' (253-3852), from Wellawathe in Colombo and hired two contract assassins, from Vavuniya while en route. The armed suspects left from Vavuniya, and arrived at Chavachahceri on Sunday (March 6), where his wife Kuhadhas Shanthini, 37, was residing with her son Kuhadhas Ruban, 15.
According to the information revealed so far, Shanthini (victim) had been residing with her relations at Meesalai East, Meesalai since Selvathurai left for foreign shores. The killers had arrived at the victim's, uncle's house at Chavachcheri- Sunday- forcibly taking away the former and her son in broad-daylight. Following minutes of the abduction, news spread of a certain 'white-van' -giving way for fear-psychosis, popularly orchestrated by LTTE propagandists. On receiving of the perpetrated abduction of two civilians, Jaffna security forces Head Quarters and intelligence sleuths of the 52 Division initiated coordinated efforts to net the suspects immediately.
As revealed by Selvathurai, during initial interrogations by security forces following his arrest, the abductors had made their way to a remote shrub area at Chavachcheri to perpetrate the brutal act. According to Kuruban, 15, two other men who were inside the van had threaten with severe reprisal at gun-point if any resistance.
As pre-planned the killers had dragged Shanthini off the van severely assaulting her and chocking her to death with the use of a cycle chain. Following the brutal killing of Shanthini the assassins had fled along with the boy ( Kuruban), who was later left under the custody of a woman at a lodge in close proximity at the Jaffna Kachcheri.
Security forces were successful in arresting Selvathurai, prime suspect, within hours while attempting to flee despising arrest. Further, investigations led to the rescue of the 15 year old boy and arrest of the aide woman and van driver identified as Raja.
More information will follow....
Canadian Tamil husband portrays 'White Van' gimmick to elude homicide
www.defence.lk">Swift investigations and timely action initiated by Jaffna security forces Head Quarters have led to an arrest of a homicide suspect and rescue of an abducted 15 year old child in Jaffna. According to Jaffna security forces Head Quarters, the arrest of the killer and aide was made within 24hours of the incident that laid trail to a startling revelation.
As per Chavachcheri Police, sting operations are now under way with the assistance of security forces to arrest remaining suspects/assassins.
The killer indentified as Selvathurai Kuhadhas, Canadian Tamil citizen, arrived in Sri Lanka on the 1st week of March driven with a subtle motive of reprisal- to kidnap his 15 year old son. Kuhadhas had spent a few days in Colombo preparing for the kill, sketching-out his final moves disguising the brutal act under cover of a "white Van facade".
Kuhadhas had acquired a 'White Dolphin van' (253-3852), from Wellawathe in Colombo and hired two contract assassins, from Vavuniya while en route. The armed suspects left from Vavuniya, and arrived at Chavachahceri on Sunday (March 6), where his wife Kuhadhas Shanthini, 37, was residing with her son Kuhadhas Ruban, 15.
According to the information revealed so far, Shanthini (victim) had been residing with her relations at Meesalai East, Meesalai since Selvathurai left for foreign shores. The killers had arrived at the victim's, uncle's house at Chavachcheri- Sunday- forcibly taking away the former and her son in broad-daylight. Following minutes of the abduction, news spread of a certain 'white-van' -giving way for fear-psychosis, popularly orchestrated by LTTE propagandists. On receiving of the perpetrated abduction of two civilians, Jaffna security forces Head Quarters and intelligence sleuths of the 52 Division initiated coordinated efforts to net the suspects immediately.
As revealed by Selvathurai, during initial interrogations by security forces following his arrest, the abductors had made their way to a remote shrub area at Chavachcheri to perpetrate the brutal act. According to Kuruban, 15, two other men who were inside the van had threaten with severe reprisal at gun-point if any resistance.
As pre-planned the killers had dragged Shanthini off the van severely assaulting her and chocking her to death with the use of a cycle chain. Following the brutal killing of Shanthini the assassins had fled along with the boy ( Kuruban), who was later left under the custody of a woman at a lodge in close proximity at the Jaffna Kachcheri.
Security forces were successful in arresting Selvathurai, prime suspect, within hours while attempting to flee despising arrest. Further, investigations led to the rescue of the 15 year old boy and arrest of the aide woman and van driver identified as Raja.
More information will follow....
Sunday, March 6, 2011
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110227_01
Sri Lanka, rising star of Asian economy - FOX NEWS
'Success story for others to emulate'
Which country had the best performing market in 2010? FOX NEWS asked in a special report on Sri Lanka. 'Guess what? It was not the United States of America! The best performing stock market was Sri Lanka's CSE which was up 96% for the year', they said.
Calling Sri Lanka 'the rising star of the Asian economy', FOX NEWS said Sri Lanka has demonstrated economic resilience amid a global economic downturn, emerging as a success story for others to emulate.
Sri Lanka has now returned to peace and prosperity, the report said adding that the government has devoted millions of dollars to develop and restore life in the areas affected by the decades-long conflict.
'Most people displaced by the fighting have returned home as the country focuses on healing and reconciliation'.
FOX NEWS also refers to a US Senate report which called the victory against the LTTE one of the few times in history that a terrorist group has ever been defeated.
Stating that Sri Lanka is Asian's oldest democracy, it adds: 'continuing its rich traditions of democracy and political freedom, elections were held in 2010 throughout the entire country for the first time since 1983'.
FOX NEWS also states that Sri Lanka is a 'hub of religious tolerance'.
'The natural beauty of its tropical forests, beaches, mountainous landscapes and cultural heritage make it a place of unrivaled splendor that has long been praised by travel writers', it adds.
Following is the FOX NEWS transcript:
Sri Lanka is an island nation with a rich cultural heritage and a written history of over 2500 years. Nestled below the Southern tip of India, Sri Lanka is home to 21 million ethnically diverse people including Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers and Malays.
It is Asia's oldest democracy and a hub of religious tolerance.
Sri Lanka is also the rising star of the Asian economy situated at the centre of the global shipping routes. It plays a vital role in international trade linking East and West.
The country is famous for producing and exporting its world-renowned Ceylon teas, clothing from Asian global manufactures, rubber products, jewellery and gems such as blue sapphires and Ceylon rubies as well as coconut products, spices and a variety of herbs.
Its stock market has in recent years been one of the world's best performing exchanges. Sri Lanka's economy is currently on the rise as it is expected to grow by 7.2% in 2010. Amid a global economic downturn, Sri Lanka has demonstrated economic resilience emerging as a success story for others to emulate.
Tourism plays an increasingly important role in Sri Lanka's booming economy and Sri Lanka has been recognized as a world class tourist destination. The natural beauty of its tropical forests, beaches, mountainous landscapes and cultural heritage make it a place of unrivaled splendor that has long been praised by travel writers.
In January 2010 the New York Times named Sri Lanka its top tourist destination. National Geographic also named Sri Lanka one of its 25 best trips of the year. The magazine found that; "Sri Lanka is finally starting to look like its old self, a peaceful destination where surf lineups are nonexistent despite world class waves and centuries old tea estates are lined with mountain bike -ready trails."
During the first half of 2010, tourist arrivals doubled compared to the same time the previous year. In May 2009 Sri Lanka prevailed in decades-long conflict against the terrorist group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). A US Senate report called the victory one of the few times in history that a terrorist group has ever been defeated.
Sri Lanka has now returned to peace and prosperity. The government with the assistance of foreign aid has devoted millions of dollars to develop and restore life in the areas affected by the decades-long conflict. Roads and other infrastructure have been rebuilt and social development programs are in place and more are being planned. Most people displaced by the fighting have returned home as the country focuses on healing and reconciliation.
Sri Lanka gained universal suffrage in 1931 and Independence from the British in 1948. Continuing its rich traditions of democracy and political freedom, elections were held in 2010 throughout the entire country for the first time since 1983.
Sri Lankans went to the polls twice in 2010, first to elect a President and then a new Parliament. The people of Sri Lanka re-elected President Rajapaksa with a record mandate. In the April Parliamentary elections, the President's party won 2/3 of the votes, a resounding victory for the President's policies. Since May 2009 Sri Lanka has experienced a tremendous political, social and economic transformation that has benefited and rejuvenated all Sri Lankans. The country is committed to peace, reconciliation and prosperity for all with the hope of making Sri Lanka the Wonder of Asia.
-End of Narration-
CLIP (Report on National Geographic Channel)
The National Geographic Channel in an exclusive report categorized Sri Lanka as the second best place to visit.
The commentators, the Times Travel Writer Jil Crawshow and Editor of Wandertrust Magazine describe Sri Lanka as 'definitely a best place to visit'.
Referring to the first world traveller Marco Polo's description of his 'favourite island', as the 'Jade Pendant in the Indian Ocean', the commentators state that Sri Lanka is exactly what it is and that it has got 'basically everything for a tourist'.
Observing that in Sri Lanka a tourist may have a 'beach to yourself', they add that the country has hundreds of miles of 'amazingly undiscovered beaches and coral marine life'. 'It is arguably one of the greatest islands for beaches', they add.
They report that Sri Lanka has a wonderful history and culture in a really small space and state that Sigiriya is a place not to be missed because of its scenic beauty.
'You don't get to number two without some must-see sights', they add.
Stating that Sri Lanka's wildlife is a 'major highlight', they refer to the availability of elephants and leopards, making a special reference to the Pinnawala Elephant Sanctuary. Pinnawala is now the largest herd in captivity with 65 elephants. It opened with seven elephants in 1975.
They also comment on the 'lovely food' and point out, 'if anyone wants to taste spicy curry then, definitely, Sri Lanka is the place to go'. 'Sri Lanka has a little bit of everything', they said.
Courtesy: PRIU
Sri Lanka, rising star of Asian economy - FOX NEWS
'Success story for others to emulate'
Which country had the best performing market in 2010? FOX NEWS asked in a special report on Sri Lanka. 'Guess what? It was not the United States of America! The best performing stock market was Sri Lanka's CSE which was up 96% for the year', they said.
Calling Sri Lanka 'the rising star of the Asian economy', FOX NEWS said Sri Lanka has demonstrated economic resilience amid a global economic downturn, emerging as a success story for others to emulate.
Sri Lanka has now returned to peace and prosperity, the report said adding that the government has devoted millions of dollars to develop and restore life in the areas affected by the decades-long conflict.
'Most people displaced by the fighting have returned home as the country focuses on healing and reconciliation'.
FOX NEWS also refers to a US Senate report which called the victory against the LTTE one of the few times in history that a terrorist group has ever been defeated.
Stating that Sri Lanka is Asian's oldest democracy, it adds: 'continuing its rich traditions of democracy and political freedom, elections were held in 2010 throughout the entire country for the first time since 1983'.
FOX NEWS also states that Sri Lanka is a 'hub of religious tolerance'.
'The natural beauty of its tropical forests, beaches, mountainous landscapes and cultural heritage make it a place of unrivaled splendor that has long been praised by travel writers', it adds.
Following is the FOX NEWS transcript:
Sri Lanka is an island nation with a rich cultural heritage and a written history of over 2500 years. Nestled below the Southern tip of India, Sri Lanka is home to 21 million ethnically diverse people including Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers and Malays.
It is Asia's oldest democracy and a hub of religious tolerance.
Sri Lanka is also the rising star of the Asian economy situated at the centre of the global shipping routes. It plays a vital role in international trade linking East and West.
The country is famous for producing and exporting its world-renowned Ceylon teas, clothing from Asian global manufactures, rubber products, jewellery and gems such as blue sapphires and Ceylon rubies as well as coconut products, spices and a variety of herbs.
Its stock market has in recent years been one of the world's best performing exchanges. Sri Lanka's economy is currently on the rise as it is expected to grow by 7.2% in 2010. Amid a global economic downturn, Sri Lanka has demonstrated economic resilience emerging as a success story for others to emulate.
Tourism plays an increasingly important role in Sri Lanka's booming economy and Sri Lanka has been recognized as a world class tourist destination. The natural beauty of its tropical forests, beaches, mountainous landscapes and cultural heritage make it a place of unrivaled splendor that has long been praised by travel writers.
In January 2010 the New York Times named Sri Lanka its top tourist destination. National Geographic also named Sri Lanka one of its 25 best trips of the year. The magazine found that; "Sri Lanka is finally starting to look like its old self, a peaceful destination where surf lineups are nonexistent despite world class waves and centuries old tea estates are lined with mountain bike -ready trails."
During the first half of 2010, tourist arrivals doubled compared to the same time the previous year. In May 2009 Sri Lanka prevailed in decades-long conflict against the terrorist group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). A US Senate report called the victory one of the few times in history that a terrorist group has ever been defeated.
Sri Lanka has now returned to peace and prosperity. The government with the assistance of foreign aid has devoted millions of dollars to develop and restore life in the areas affected by the decades-long conflict. Roads and other infrastructure have been rebuilt and social development programs are in place and more are being planned. Most people displaced by the fighting have returned home as the country focuses on healing and reconciliation.
Sri Lanka gained universal suffrage in 1931 and Independence from the British in 1948. Continuing its rich traditions of democracy and political freedom, elections were held in 2010 throughout the entire country for the first time since 1983.
Sri Lankans went to the polls twice in 2010, first to elect a President and then a new Parliament. The people of Sri Lanka re-elected President Rajapaksa with a record mandate. In the April Parliamentary elections, the President's party won 2/3 of the votes, a resounding victory for the President's policies. Since May 2009 Sri Lanka has experienced a tremendous political, social and economic transformation that has benefited and rejuvenated all Sri Lankans. The country is committed to peace, reconciliation and prosperity for all with the hope of making Sri Lanka the Wonder of Asia.
-End of Narration-
CLIP (Report on National Geographic Channel)
The National Geographic Channel in an exclusive report categorized Sri Lanka as the second best place to visit.
The commentators, the Times Travel Writer Jil Crawshow and Editor of Wandertrust Magazine describe Sri Lanka as 'definitely a best place to visit'.
Referring to the first world traveller Marco Polo's description of his 'favourite island', as the 'Jade Pendant in the Indian Ocean', the commentators state that Sri Lanka is exactly what it is and that it has got 'basically everything for a tourist'.
Observing that in Sri Lanka a tourist may have a 'beach to yourself', they add that the country has hundreds of miles of 'amazingly undiscovered beaches and coral marine life'. 'It is arguably one of the greatest islands for beaches', they add.
They report that Sri Lanka has a wonderful history and culture in a really small space and state that Sigiriya is a place not to be missed because of its scenic beauty.
'You don't get to number two without some must-see sights', they add.
Stating that Sri Lanka's wildlife is a 'major highlight', they refer to the availability of elephants and leopards, making a special reference to the Pinnawala Elephant Sanctuary. Pinnawala is now the largest herd in captivity with 65 elephants. It opened with seven elephants in 1975.
They also comment on the 'lovely food' and point out, 'if anyone wants to taste spicy curry then, definitely, Sri Lanka is the place to go'. 'Sri Lanka has a little bit of everything', they said.
Courtesy: PRIU
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110306_01
Efforts of groups under rump LTTE bound to fail
The groups working under the aegis of the rump LTTE is plotting again at the UN Human Rights Council sessions to destabilise Sri Lanka but their efforts will not succeed as it had failed during more difficult times earlier, said Plantations Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe who led the Sri Lankan delegation to Geneva. Notorious local NGOs pump money Three notorious local NGOs had pumped money to the tune of Rs. 600 million from 2008 - 2010 to work against the country and the Government. Their terms of conditions to become beneficiaries included working towards a regime change, authoritative sources said. The funding had been channelled from overseas sources. Moreover, the same NGOs had received a staggering Rs. 400 million from unaccounted sources during this period. The sources said that their main objective is to discredit the government and paint a distorted picture of the situation in Sri Lanka.
Notorious local NGOs pump money
Three notorious local NGOs had pumped money to the tune of Rs. 600 million from 2008 - 2010 to work against the country and the Government. Their terms of conditions to become beneficiaries included working towards a regime change, authoritative sources said. The funding had been channelled from overseas sources. Moreover, the same NGOs had received a staggering Rs. 400 million from unaccounted sources during this period. The sources said that their main objective is to discredit the government and paint a distorted picture of the situation in Sri Lanka.
Minister Samarasinghe who returned to the country last week after attending the inaugural sessions said, "There are the usual negative constituencies which represent the NGOs.
They continue to harp on war crimes charges and strive to paint a distorted human rights picture of Sri Lanka." There is much progress that could be put on record. No one could, in that kind of background question the commitment of the Government in forging greater unity among the different ethnicities."
He said their efforts are bound to fail as the international community has been made aware of Sri Lanka's progress since the defeat of the LTTE and the end of terrorism in May 2009.
"I cannot see the disinformation campaign against Sri Lanka ever succeeding. If they could not achieve it during the height of the war against terrorism, how could they do it when all these development activities are taking place," the Minister said.
He said that the international movement of the LTTE has not given up their separatist ideology and their vigourous disinformation campaign targets the UNHRC session each year. "Their target is to destabilise the country." "Those things will not disappear any time soon. We have to intervene at the right time and put the record straight," the Minister said.
The UNHRC sessions that hear representations from government members and non state players such as international NGOs will continue till March 25.
Courtesy : Sunday observer
Efforts of groups under rump LTTE bound to fail
The groups working under the aegis of the rump LTTE is plotting again at the UN Human Rights Council sessions to destabilise Sri Lanka but their efforts will not succeed as it had failed during more difficult times earlier, said Plantations Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe who led the Sri Lankan delegation to Geneva. Notorious local NGOs pump money Three notorious local NGOs had pumped money to the tune of Rs. 600 million from 2008 - 2010 to work against the country and the Government. Their terms of conditions to become beneficiaries included working towards a regime change, authoritative sources said. The funding had been channelled from overseas sources. Moreover, the same NGOs had received a staggering Rs. 400 million from unaccounted sources during this period. The sources said that their main objective is to discredit the government and paint a distorted picture of the situation in Sri Lanka.
Notorious local NGOs pump money
Three notorious local NGOs had pumped money to the tune of Rs. 600 million from 2008 - 2010 to work against the country and the Government. Their terms of conditions to become beneficiaries included working towards a regime change, authoritative sources said. The funding had been channelled from overseas sources. Moreover, the same NGOs had received a staggering Rs. 400 million from unaccounted sources during this period. The sources said that their main objective is to discredit the government and paint a distorted picture of the situation in Sri Lanka.
Minister Samarasinghe who returned to the country last week after attending the inaugural sessions said, "There are the usual negative constituencies which represent the NGOs.
They continue to harp on war crimes charges and strive to paint a distorted human rights picture of Sri Lanka." There is much progress that could be put on record. No one could, in that kind of background question the commitment of the Government in forging greater unity among the different ethnicities."
He said their efforts are bound to fail as the international community has been made aware of Sri Lanka's progress since the defeat of the LTTE and the end of terrorism in May 2009.
"I cannot see the disinformation campaign against Sri Lanka ever succeeding. If they could not achieve it during the height of the war against terrorism, how could they do it when all these development activities are taking place," the Minister said.
He said that the international movement of the LTTE has not given up their separatist ideology and their vigourous disinformation campaign targets the UNHRC session each year. "Their target is to destabilise the country." "Those things will not disappear any time soon. We have to intervene at the right time and put the record straight," the Minister said.
The UNHRC sessions that hear representations from government members and non state players such as international NGOs will continue till March 25.
Courtesy : Sunday observer
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110304_02
More ex-LTTE cadres re-integrated soon
The next batch of ex-LTTE combatants to be released will comprise males who are married and have children, said Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe.
This group is identified considering their wives and children, living without their husbands and fathers, he said.
The government reunited 106 ex-combatants who successfully completed their rehabilitation period with their relatives marking Maha Shivarathri festival (March 3).
The Commissioner stated that around 4,500 ex-LTTE combatants are currently undergoing rehabilitation. Most of them are LTTE cadres who surrendered to the Army following the defeat of the LTTE.
During the last stages of the war against terrorism, security forces detained 11,696 ex-LTTE cadres. The government has so far reintegrated 5,764 ex-cadres who underwent an extensive rehabilitation programme.
Courtesy : PRIU
More ex-LTTE cadres re-integrated soon
The next batch of ex-LTTE combatants to be released will comprise males who are married and have children, said Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe.
This group is identified considering their wives and children, living without their husbands and fathers, he said.
The government reunited 106 ex-combatants who successfully completed their rehabilitation period with their relatives marking Maha Shivarathri festival (March 3).
The Commissioner stated that around 4,500 ex-LTTE combatants are currently undergoing rehabilitation. Most of them are LTTE cadres who surrendered to the Army following the defeat of the LTTE.
During the last stages of the war against terrorism, security forces detained 11,696 ex-LTTE cadres. The government has so far reintegrated 5,764 ex-cadres who underwent an extensive rehabilitation programme.
Courtesy : PRIU
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